


Brisingamen

by TheBlackPendant07



Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, I like the idea of everyone dating, Multi, Trans Female Character, but I think the way it turned out is pretty okay, honestly I only had a vague idea of where I was going with it, kind of Nora centric, kind of a backstory?, mostly because of the whole backstory part, mtf, poly teams give me life, slightly AU, this story really got way out of hand
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2015-12-14
Packaged: 2018-05-06 15:41:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 26,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5422649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBlackPendant07/pseuds/TheBlackPendant07
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After their fight at the Vytal Tournament, Team JNPR lay together for a fitful night's rest. Nora, like usual, is still full of energy and finds herself unable to sleep. Instead, she reminisces on her past with Ren and all of the hardships that the two faced together. She recalls their trials and tribulations, the ups and downs the two took to become who they are and to get where they are. Not all memories are particularly fond, but Nora and Ren both cherish them anyways because, without them, neither would be as happy as they are now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brisingamen

**Author's Note:**

> I was very iffy when I first looked at this story and how I wrote it, mainly because it's super long and I kind of intended for it to be read in one go. So I appreciate you readers who are confident enough to tackle such a fic. For those who don't think they can read it, hey, that's fine too.
> 
> I apologize if characters are ooc and if my ocs get a little annoying. I don't know how the orphanage system works and I had to get the story to progress somehow. If things seem to be going a bit quickly that can pretty much be blamed on me wanting to get content in without making the fic even longer than it needs to be.
> 
> The main basis for this story, I believe, is that I have an intense love for Team JNPR and they were my first favorite team before Team SSSN came around. Nora and Ren were my absolute favorites and still pretty much are. Not only that, but I also noticed that there seems to be a lot more FtM fics than there are MtF, so I felt like writing this would help to even out the representation a bit.
> 
> I myself being FtM it was a bit challenging to write this, as I've no clue how it works for the other side, but I made an attempt and I hope I didn't insult anyone. If I did, please let me know!
> 
> Really, any information that can be provided to me would be great and I love constructive criticism.
> 
> Oh yeah, apologies if the formatting is a bit weird. There's a change in viewpoint near the beginning, although I don't think that's so hard to keep track of. There's also time skips, but I've put markers for that. Just know that *** usually means that there's a shift in perspective or a skip in time.
> 
> Uh, I think that's it.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY or anything like that. That belongs to Rooster Teeth.
> 
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated.

Laying in bed and staring up at the ceiling, Nora listened to the steady breathing of Team JNPR as they all slept on the messy pile of mattresses and blankets that were strewn about in the middle of the room. Lights off and curtains on the windows drawn, the room was just dark enough that she could make out her teammates’ silhouettes, but not any of their finer details. She admired a trim waist, a nicely sculpted nose, and a strong jaw.

They’d finished their team fight for the day, winning easily against Team BRNZ and being allowed to move onto the doubles round. She could still feel the slight electrical buzz running through her veins.

All of them and Team RWBY had been so happy, going out and celebrating before they were due back for curfew.

Nora sighed in content, still able to feel Pyrrha’s warm skin through her dress and Jaune’s chest pressed against her back as the redhead and the blonde attempted to dance with her standing between them. She could still feel Ren’s gaze, steady and peaceful, on her as she twirled alongside Pyrrha, Jaune leading them in dizzying circles.

Pyrrha had covered the food, paying for everyone’s meals from her seemingly never ending stores of lien. Some of them had objected, but the warrior was glad that she had the ability to reward them all for their hard work.

The little bomber remembered fondly that when they’d returned to the dorm room Jaune had announced that he didn’t feel like sleeping in separate beds and the rest had readily agreed with their fearless leader.

Moving the mattresses, they made one large bed in the middle of the room and piled onto it.

That led her to where she was currently, lying surprisingly still and basking in the euphoria she felt after such a victory.

Small, shifting movements from her right told her that someone was either awake, or close to awake. She turned turquoise eyes to try and see who it was, but she already knew by instinct that it was her childhood friend, Ren. He always seemed to wake up after she woke up, even then.

“Nora? Why are you awake?” He murmured, tired eyes peeking at her from beneath a blanket. There was some red hair draped over his shoulder, indicating that Pyrrha’s lovely locks had started their process of spreading into a wild mess.

Nora hummed at that, reaching over a hand to straighten the fiery strands so that they wouldn’t be too tangled in the morning.

“I’m just thinking, Renny. Couldn’t sleep, you know?” She whispered back, a content smile on her face.

It was hard to see in the dark, but the little ginger could tell that Ren had that small, pleased smile he always wore when he was amused about something. Nudging his shoulder with her fist, Nora stuck her tongue out at him and asked sarcastically, “What’s so funny, huh?”

“Nothing. It’s just the fact that we’re here now after starting from the bottom. Amazing, isn’t it?”

Ren didn’t need to say anything about where they’d been before because Nora knew on a deep, nearly metaphysical level, what he was talking about. She also knew that yes, it was almost like a miracle how they went from being practically nobodies to pretty important somebodies.

Nora giggled a little, but not loud enough to wake the others, before flopping over to fully face her best friend. “I don’t think I’ve heard you talk this much in a long time. But yeah, I have to agree. Could you imagine back then that two little orphans would turn into some of the best first year Hunters/Huntresses at Beacon? I mean, I can hardly believe it. I’m sure if someone told me we’d be fighting in the Vytal Tournament back then I would have probably broken their arm.”

The pink eyed boy smiled a little wider, shaking his head as much as he could. “Nora, you shouldn’t break people’s arms.”

“Yeah well people shouldn’t put anchovies on pizza but they do it anyway. What’s the deal with that, I mean, it’s fish. I could understand if it was fruit, like pineapple, but fish? That just sounds disgusting! It does make you wonder though what toppings are acceptable for pizza and what’s not. Do you think syrup works as a pizza topping? I mean, people like to mix sweet things with not sweet things sometimes and it tastes good. So do you think-”

The ginger’s rant was cut off when Ren reached a hand out to silence her, shooting a look over her shoulder to where Jaune was sleeping behind her. Pulling his hand back, he whispered, “Nora, you need to be more quiet. The others need sleep.”

“Oh please, don’t stop because of us. Feel free to continue. I’d like to hear some of Nora’s thoughts on pizza toppings.”

Nora perked up at that, shooting her own look over Ren’s shoulder and at Pyrrha who was smiling sleepily at the two of them. From behind Jaune stretched, turning over himself so he could look at the rest of his team.

The blonde rubbed at his eyes, hair mussed and his pajamas wrinkled. “Why are you guys talking about pizza toppings?”

Pyrrha leaned up a bit so she could see their leader, resting her chin on Ren’s shoulder so she wouldn’t have to strain to hold herself up. “I don’t think they were talking about pizza toppings initially, Jaune. I think it’s more likely that they were discussing the tournament.”

“Makes sense.” He mumbled back, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against Nora’s back.

Ren scooted a little closer to Nora so that Pyrrha could get nearer and make conversing easier, even though they were all still half asleep.

“Oh, you’re right! Renny and I were talking about the tournament. It’s just hard to believe, y’know? The four of us actually won today. I just can’t get over it. I still feel like I’m overcharged right now and at any moment I’ll be grounded again and back in the middle of the fight.” Nora babbled, foregoing whispering now that she knew the rest of the team was awake.

Pyrrha hummed in amusement, green eyes crinkling at the corners when she smiled. “I still don’t know why you had any doubts. We’re a great team.”

“Yeah, a great team.” Jaune mumbled from behind Nora, lazily raising a fist in the air. “Those guys didn’t stand a chance.”

“But Jaune,” Ren began quietly, tone reserved but not unkind. “You must remember that Nora and I are orphans. It’s a bit hard for us to accept something as good as this happening to us when nothing else has.”

The bomber had to agree, her hand reaching back to hold Jaune’s fondly.

“Did we ever tell you guys about how we met and all? Or how we, well, came to be who we are now?” She said, her energy dying down to become something more subtle.

The redhead reached over and around Ren, resting her hand on Nora’s shoulder in a comforting manner. “You haven’t, but don’t feel compelled to tell us if you don’t feel up to it. We’re all tired right now and you might not be in the right mindset to really decide if you want to share this or not.”

Jaune agreed with the Greek warrior, although not verbally. Nora could only tell because he nodded his head which was still resting against her back.

“I’m sure Nora would like to share this. She likes telling stories.” Ren said quietly, not offering an opinion.

“Renny’s right! I’ll tell you guys. I mean, it’s only fair that you figure out our past after all of this stuff that we’ve been through. That and the fact that Jaune is offering to let all of us come with him when he goes to visit his family for the holidays.” The smaller girl chirped, sleep abandoning her as she prepared herself to tell the long and epic tale of how she and Ren came to be.

“You see it all began when this mysterious couple decided to leave a little black haired baby by the doors of an orphanage…”

***

It had been one of the nicer nights when the baby boy had been dropped off. One of the Hunters that had been working found him at the front door, wrapped up in a green, silk cloth with a small bundle settled next to him.

The Hunter had looked around for any sign of an adult or possible parents, but all he could see were two figures disappearing around a corner.

Unable to chase after them and take care of the baby, the Hunter picked up the infant along with the bundle and brought both inside. There was a small note inside the bundle along with a toddler sized changshan. The note contained the boy’s basic information and attached to it was the birth certificate with the name written in a lovely script.

“Lie Ren.”

The baby was instantly taken into the orphanage’s ranks, being cared for and loved just like every other parentless child in the establishment.

Skip ahead by about four years to when another child arrived, although with a pair of worn looking parents at his back. The same Hunter that had found Ren spoke to the parents, directing the toddler to go play with some of the toys at the back of the room.

He’d looked skeptical at first, looking frightfully up at a mother and father who, despite the bags under their eyes and skewed clothing, smiled down at him and urged him to go play and have fun.

The boy didn’t hesitate after that, innocently skipping over towards the toys that were splayed about on the floor. He didn’t acknowledge the other kids that were there and playing with the toys, more interested in finding a way to entertain himself without taking too long that his parents got impatient with him.

He noticed that one boy, dressed in some strange clothes, seemed to be sitting away from the other kids, so the little ginger decided that on that day he would make a new friend.

Away from the innocent child the mother and father spoke in whispers with the Hunter, both looking anguished while they explained to the man about how they couldn’t continue to support their little thunderclap any longer. He believed them simply from the way they looked, the mother and father appearing to be a bit underweight and sleep deprived.

He pitied the little boy who was about to lose his parents, but he couldn’t help but agree with the fact that this would probably be the best for all of them.

The Hunter ran the parents through the motions, taking them to another room so that they could fill out the proper paperwork and vent any emotions that they felt they couldn’t in front of the children. The mother cried, tears creating streaks through the thin layer of grime that rested on her face.

The father didn’t let any tears escape, but the Hunter felt that he was crying internally, the larger man’s turquoise eyes looking absolutely destroyed.

They remained like this for a while, the mother and father giving themselves some time to prepare while the Hunter awkwardly sat there and attempted to give them some space. Finally the two were ready and the Hunter left the room to go collect the toddler.

Large, turquoise eyes glanced up when the man approached, although they quickly diverted back to the little, pink eyed boy sitting across from them. Between the two were some toys, although the little ginger seemed to be the only one playing with them. The small black haired boy seemed content to just watch, lending a few ideas on what the other boy’s hero should do when he couldn’t think of anything.

“Hey kiddo, mind coming with me? Your parents want to see you.” The hunter said, crouching down so that he could be close to eye level with the child.

Wide eyes once more turned to him and the little boy set down the toys, nodding in consent and standing from where he was kneeling previously.

Quickly turning to the little boy who was still seated, he blurted out as only a toddler could, “Tanks! I like played wid you.”

Little Ren just smiled in return, bowing his head as he said quietly, “I liked playing with you too.”

The Hunter stood after this, patting Ren’s head fondly before taking the little ginger’s hand. “Come on now. I’m sure you’ll have plenty of opportunities to play with Ren later.” He didn’t want to think about all of the negatives that would tag along with that positive.

“Wen? Bye Wen!”

Little feet tottered after the larger, unsuspecting of the disaster that was about to strike. Ren watched after the two, a gut feeling telling him that the orphanage was about to gain another child.

The small, turquoise eyed boy entered the back room to find his parents looking sad, both parties staring at each other uncomfortably. Hesitantly he stepped towards them, tiny shoulders quivering as he placed small hands on his mother’s knees. “Mama? Papa? What’s wrong?”

The father, a large and intimidating man, looked heartbroken as he leaned down to pat the child on the head. “Baby, I hope you know that your mother and I love you very much and we only want what’s best for you.”

“We love you so much, sweetheart.” The mother added in, her composure slipping and some tears spilling over onto her cheeks.

Not exactly knowing why everyone was so sad, the little boy began to cry too because his parents’ sadness hit him deep for an unknown reason. The kid’s cries seemed to open the floodgates and all three let go, the mother lifting the boy up to sit on her lap so that she and her husband could both hug him at the same time.

The Hunter stood to the side, head bowed as he tried not to let the sight affect him. He’d seen it dozens of times, but that didn’t change the fact that it was still sad.

Finally, the father managed to tear himself away and wipe his eyes so that he could see clearly once more. Clearing his throat, he said as calmly as he could, “My little thunderclap, your mother and I have to go away for a while, okay? You probably won’t see us again, but the nice man here has promised to take care of you and make sure you can have all of the things we can’t give you. I’m so sorry, my tiny champion. I love you - we love you, so much. So, so much."

The mother could just nod her head in agreement, still clutching her baby boy to her chest and crying.

The child didn’t understand, his own tears dissolving to sniffling as he took time to process what had just been said to him. His parents were leaving? And he was staying?

“N-No… I don want you and mama to go. Stay wid me.” He begged, tiny hands fisted in his mother’s shirt. She made a small, sad noise and gently removed his hands, shaking her head of ginger hair forlornly.

“We can’t, sweetheart. I’m sorry. Maybe… Maybe when you’re older we can see each other again, but we can’t stay for now. I’m so sorry.”

“Honey, we should go. The longer we stay, the harder this will be.” The bigger man said, laying a comforting hand on his wife’s shoulder. Gently handing the child over to the Hunter, the couple stood and began to walk their way towards the door.

The Hunter set the child down and held his hand as they walked behind the parents, planning on saying their real goodbyes at the door. He knew that he’d need to take some time the next couple of days to comfort the boy and he just hoped the kid wouldn’t get too hung up about this.

At the door the mother and father paused, looking back once more to say their thanks to the Hunter and to bid their child farewell.

The little ginger cried the entire time, clinging to the legs of his parents and begging them not to go.

When the time came for the parents to really take their leave the child was even more adamant, having to be restrained by the Hunter so that he wouldn’t chase after the retreating figures of his former mother and father.

“Shh, shh, it’s okay. I’m sorry this had to happen to you, kiddo, but I promise I’ll do everything I can to make it better, okay? I know this probably doesn’t count for much, but you can think of me as your new dad if that makes you feel better.” The man soothed, kneeling down so that he could embrace the heartbroken child.

The boy just sobbed, hugging tightly to the grown figure as he shook his head.

“Y-You’re not my papa…” He began and the Hunter began to grow worried, but the boy continued on, “b-but you can be m-my uncle.”

“I’d like that.” The older one said, rubbing circles on the small back in an attempt to get the ginger to calm down.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, the elder comforting the younger as the seconds ticked by. Finally the Hunter stood, smoothing a hand over the little boy’s locks. At first the boy wanted to protest about being left alone, but the man stopped him before he could say anything.

Holding a finger to his lips in a shushing motion, the Hunter said, “I just need to go fill in some paperwork for a moment, okay? You can explore your new home if you want.”

Before any type of reply could be given the Hunter was gone, back in the room where all of the boy’s misfortune began. He just stood there, staring sadly at the door and the feeling of crying once again worked itself up in his tiny body. Before any tears could actually be shed he felt a small tap on his shoulder, and upon turning around turquoise eyes came face to face with pink. Blinking a moment, it took the child a few seconds to realize that this was the little boy he’d been playing with - not pestering - earlier.

The black haired boy was straight faced, displaying no outward emotion as he examined the sniffling boy in front of him.

Tilting his head to the side, the pink eyed boy said quietly, “Ren, my name is Ren. Not ‘Wen’.”

The other little boy laughed a little, although he still felt a bit torn up inside. “I’m sowy. I’m not good wid sayin things yet.” He raised a tiny fist to wipe at his eyes and nose, quickly cleaning himself up so that he’d at least look halfway decent and not like some baby. No one wanted to look like a baby at his age.

“I’m Nore! Nore Valkyrie.”

He said his name slowly, trying to pronounce it the exact way his parents had. Even though they were gone and he figured he’d never see them again, he thought that he might as well keep and treasure the name that they’d given him. He was their little thunderclap after all.

“It’s nice to meet you, Nore.”

“You too, Ren!”

A few moments of silence passed between the two, and Nore began to rock back and forth on his feet as he thought about something to talk about. He was the new kid here and he figured that he should try to make at least one friend as quickly as he could.

“Uhm… I like your hair! And your eyes! They’re pink, and that’s my favorite color.” He babbled, pointing a finger to indicate said parts on Ren’s person.

Little Ren just smiled shyly, a faint blush dusting his cheeks. “Thank you. You’re the only one who likes them.”

Nore grinned triumphantly, glad that he could make his new friend feel appreciated. Deciding to continue since he was on a roll, he stated excitedly, “Yeah! And I like your pajamas too. They’re pretty cool.”

At that Ren made a small face, looking not quite displeased but not quite happy either.

“These aren’t pajamas.”

The ginger froze at that, mind quickly shifting gears as he realized that he just made a potentially grave mistake. Trying to fix it as quickly as he could, little Nore waved his hands in front of himself as if to ward away the backfiring compliment.

“I-I mean, that wasn’t what I mean! Uhm, y-your clothes are nice, yeah! I like them too! I mean, they look reawy nice? Wait, uh, I mean… S-So… Hey! Wet’s be fwiends!”

A small hand instantly darted out in the universal sign for a handshake, Nore smiling nervously at Ren who he hoped he hadn’t just insulted. The little pink eyed boy stared at the hand being presented to him for a few seconds, his gaze flicking between it and Nore’s eyes.

For a few moments Nore was worried that he was just going to be blown off and abandoned once more, but he felt relief crash into him like a wave when an equally small hand reached up and grasped his own.

Ren seemed awkward with the handshake, just holding Nore’s hand instead of actually shaking it.

“I’ll be your friend.” He said calmly, smiling at Nore and the ginger felt as though the skies had just cleared to rain beautiful sunshine onto this one boy who was destined to become best friends with him.

“Thank you! Oh, thank you thank you! We gon’ have so much fun togetha!” Nore gushed, practically bouncing up and down. The two hadn’t released hands and Ren shook a little from the smaller boy’s motions, though he didn’t seem to mind and just took it in stride. He figured the smaller boy in front of him would still be sad, but apparently Nore bounced back well. That, or all of the feelings would hit him unexpectedly at a later time.

Ren decided that he’d make sure Nore had a shoulder to cry on.

Nore himself was peering around curiously, swinging the interlocked hands quickly and without rhythm. “Who’s that uncle guy? He never said his name.”

“He likes it when we call him ‘Uncle’ or ‘Dad’. His actual name is Alder though.” The pink eyed boy stated, glancing over at the office the Hunter had disappeared into. “He and his team own this orphanage.”

The ginger hummed, stopping his swinging when he suddenly yanked on Ren’s hand. “You speak so nice! I wanna speak wike you do.” Giggling right in the taller boy’s face, Nore continued on in a bubbly tone, “You should talk more. You sound pwetty cool when you talk and stuff. Hey, what’s a team? I mean, I know what a team is, but what’s Uncle’s team? Does he do sports? Are they some kind of sport wegends and win medals and stuff?”

Ren’s head spun a little from being asked so many questions so quickly, but he managed to sort through it after a minute of deciphering.

“He’s a Hunter along with the rest of his team. Hunters and Huntresses fight against the big Grimm monsters so that we stay safe.”

Nore’s eyes practically shone at that, his mouth popping open and his eyes widening. “Cool! I wanna be a Hunta! Ren, wet’s be Huntas togetha! We can be da coolest Huntas in da world!” He began to tug on Ren’s arm in his excitement, wrinkling the other boy’s clothes in the process. Ren just smiled a little and nodded his head. Being a Hunter sounded nice.

Time flew by for the two children, Nore talking so fast that sometimes his sentences completely ran into each other like a train wreck. Ren just took it all in stride, adding a comment whenever necessary. Sometimes he’d correct the things Nore said because they were either ridiculous, or just needed to be pronounced differently. The Hunter had come later to show Nore to the rooms where the boys stayed, had given him some clothes and a toothbrush, and ushered the two to clean up for dinner.

During dinner Nore ended up eating with his only friend, not too interested in connecting to the other kids now that he had a friend he could call his own.

Ren didn’t mind having his time hogged, enjoying the fact that someone finally decided to speak to the kid in the “weird clothes”. He didn’t even mind the fact that Nore ate like it was going out of style, something he’d never do around anyone else.

After dinner the two changed and got ready for bed, Nore in the bed next to Ren’s own bed which stood against a wall.

The pillows were soft and the blankets warm, each bed having a small chest at the foot to hold the children’s personal items. Nore finished stowing his day clothes there, hopping up onto the bed and beneath the covers before turning to face Ren who was just settling into his own bed.

“Goodnight, Ren!” The ginger chirped, smiling widely.

Ren hummed and gave a faint smile, whispering, “Goodnight, Nore.”

The lights were out after that and soon every boy in the room was asleep, some snoring and some tossing and turning.

It was a few hours later that Ren woke to the sound of someone crying.

Rubbing the sleep out of pink eyes, the little boy sat up in his bed to look around for the source of the noise. He wasn’t too surprised to find out that the crying was coming from Nore’s bed and he was even more unsurprised by the fact that the smaller boy was hiding under his blanket.

Climbing out of his own bed, Ren walked the two feet to Nore’s bed and pulled the blanket aside before settling himself in beside the whimpering form.

“Nore?”

“I-I’m okay.” The little boy sniffled, but his body and voice were shaking so much that Ren knew he was lying.

Instead of calling him out on it, the black haired boy decided that he’d just lay there with Nore until he felt better. That or he fell asleep. Not hesitating to wrap his arms around his new friend, Ren pulled Nore in tight and squeezed him in what he hoped was a comforting manner.

The turquoise eyed boy turned immediately when Ren stopped moving, burying his head in the small chest as he cried quietly. He tried to wipe his snot away so that it wouldn’t get on the taller boy’s nice pajamas, but Ren dismissed the actions and whispered that he didn’t mind. For some reason Nore cried harder at that, body shaking like a leaf as he clung to his newly dubbed best friend.

“S-Sorry…” Nore choked out, face still buried in green cloth while his small hands fisted in the back of Ren’s shirt.

“It’s okay.” Ren whispered back, hands awkwardly running up and down Nore’s back.

The ginger sniffled, crying beginning to calm down a little as his body exhausted itself.

“You can be sad about things and cry, I don’t mind. That’s natural. It means you’re normal. You’re still Nore and I like Nore. Nore became my first friend, after all. I think letting you cry and all is the least I could do.”

“You still talk so fancy.” The smaller one whispered, voice a little hoarse, but general attitude much lighter. “I wanna know how you got here. Same as me?”

Ren hummed a bit, closing his eyes as he stroked a hand down Nore’s back. “I didn’t get here like you. I’ve been here since I was a baby. Uncle said my parents left me on the doorstep because they couldn’t afford to keep me. I wasn’t supposed to happen, you know. But Uncle and his team took me and raised me here. This place isn’t so bad, especially since you’re here now.”

Nore bumped his head against Ren’s chin, hiccuping as he laughed. The pink eyed boy laughed a little too, spending a few more minutes calming the boy in front of him before both fell asleep.

***

It was about four years since Nore was left at the orphanage, his friendship with Ren growing strong over the years as he learned to let go of his sadness and embrace the joys of life.

Over those years he’d met every child in the orphanage, met every person who helps maintain the orphanage, and learned almost everything he could possibly want about Hunters and what schooling was required to become one.

He’d also learned that Ren was steadily on his way to being trilingual, already having a strong grasp on two languages and learning another one for the sake of it.

Nore figured that he might like to learn another language, but he quickly abandoned that idea when his best friend told him how long and hard he’d have to study to even grasp the general idea of what’s being said in the new language.

Instead he and Ren decided to focus their energies in the little school that the orphanage sent them to, striving for a good education so that they could make their caretakers proud. They didn’t really have to try too hard to make their caretakers proud of them, but they liked the challenge anyway and always felt good whenever the adults would praise them.

The ginger and the black haired boy were both very pleased when the adults supported their decision to become Hunters, even offering to pay the tuition needed to get into good schools so they could follow their dreams.

Going to an esteemed school was still a ways away for the two boys though, both still in the middle of their third year of primary school. Nore, as Ren found out quickly, had a hard time learning and focusing on anything that wasn’t hands on.

The one thing he didn’t have a hard time focusing on was the newly apparent difference between girls and boys.

While both were still only at the age of eight, both were quickly finding out that there’s more to life than just adults and children.

“Look at that skirt! Renny, I wish I could have something like that. It’s cute, don’tcha think?”

“Mhmm. It’s very nice. Why don’t you tell her that?”

“I will! Hey! Wait! I like your skirt! Pink is my favorite color too!”

Nore and Ren were both sitting on the grass located outside of their school, recess having just begun. The ginger had grown even more vibrant in personality, but had grown very little physically. His best friend had about three inches on him and while he didn’t enjoy being so short, he didn’t hate being so small either.

Currently Nore was watching the other kids around them play, eyes trained on one girl with a swirly, pink skirt that seemed to flow like water whenever she moved.

“I don’t think she heard me, Renny.” He whined, flopping onto his back to stare at the sky.

Ren followed him down, although in a more graceful manner, and said, “She’s probably too far away to hear you.”

“Mm.” Nore hummed, tapping his fingers against his stomach before turning his head to look at Ren. “Hey Renny, why do you think the other boys don’t tell the girls that they like their clothes?”

“What do you mean?” The black haired boy murmured, turning his head as well.

“I feel like I’m the only one who tells them that they have cute stuff. Is that bad?”

“No, it’s not bad.”

“Then why don’t the other boys do it?”

Ren smiled faintly at Nore, pink eyes mischievous. “Maybe it’s because they’re not as great as you. They know they can’t compete, so they don’t even try.”

Nore smiled happily at that, laughing light and bubbly. “I do give really good compliments, don’t I?”

“You do.”

The two lay in silence for a while, staring at the sky and once in a while turning their gazes to look at each other. Ren had a feeling that Nore had some more things he wanted to talk about, but he wouldn’t push the boy to say anything until he was ready.

“Hey Renny…” Nore began, until he cut himself off with a huff.

Ren turned his body to face Nore, encouraging him with his eyes to continue.

“Uhm, do you ever not feel like yourself? I mean, of course you feel like yourself because you’re you, but I mean have you ever gotten a feeling like you’re not who you’re supposed to be? Wait, that came out weird. Uhm, no, it’s more like, have you ever gotten a feeling that the way you look and sound and stuff isn’t exactly right? Like, it should be different somehow?”

Turquoise eyes shifted around uncomfortably, teeth worrying at a bottom lip while Nore waited with baited breath for his friend’s answer.

The pink eyed boy had to admit that he hadn’t been expecting something like that, but he didn’t want to make Nore feel bad so he decided to ask tentatively, “Do you feel like that? Not yourself, I mean.”

Nore’s eyes shot up to meet his own as a gust of air left his small body.

“Sometimes?”

“What do you feel like when that happens?” Ren asked, a hint of confusion lacing his tone.

“I dunno, that’s why I asked you.” Nore responded, a little exasperated but not in an unkind way. He sat up then, helping Ren to sit up and wiping away any grass that might have clung to his back. “If you can’t tell me, then who can?”

Ren wiped grass off of Nore as he thought, trying to pick the best person he knew for a question like that.

“Why don’t you ask Uncle?” He suggested, pulling his legs close so that he could hug his knees.

The ginger seemed to really consider this, putting a finger to his chin as he rocked back and forth to get his thinking skills going. “That’s not a bad idea. Yeah! I’ll ask Uncle when we get home from school.”

“It’s settled then. Now let’s go, recess is almost over.”

After school let out for the day Nore and Ren could be found walking themselves back to the orphanage, the ginger skipping while the pink eyed boy walked at a calm and steady pace. The adults they passed would wave at them, sometimes stopping to say “hi” or just telling the two to enjoy their day.

The kids entered the building they called home in good spirits, shucking their school things onto their respective beds before seeking out the man they called “Uncle”.

They found him in the orphanage’s miniscule study room, reading a book that they most likely wouldn’t be able to tackle until they were well into their young adult years. He put his book away when he saw them, smiling and patting the seats next to him like he always did whenever one of the orphanage’s many children wanted his attention.

Nore climbed up onto his lap while Ren took the open chair, both settling in before Nore began his rapid fire questioning.

“Hey Uncle, before you ask we had a great day at school today, just like every other day. I have a question for you though! It’s super duper important and I need a good answer! Now don’t let me down.”

“Alright, kiddo. Hit me with your best shot.” The older man said, smiling at the child’s energy.

The ginger kicked his feet back and forth as he talked, mouth moving a mile a minute. “So today Renny and I were talking about how I’m like the only boy to compliment girls about what they wear and stuff and at first I thought that I might be weird but then Renny told me that I’m not weird so if I’m not weird then what am I? And is it normal for someone to not feel like themselves sometimes? Not that you don’t always feel like yourself, but I wanna know if people sometimes don’t feel like themselves like the way they look and feel and stuff is all different and funny and different than how they should be.”

The hunter blinked, momentarily stunned by all of the words that had suddenly assaulted his ears. Ren shot him a sympathetic look, pink eyes sorry but also a bit amused.

“Okay…” The man began slowly, deciding to tackle this one question at a time. “First, you are not weird for complimenting girls on how they look. People like compliments and it’s good for their health, so keep the compliments going, okay?”

“Gotcha.” Nore agreed, nodding his head enthusiastically.

“As for your second question… Yeah, I think it’s normal sometimes for people to not feel like themselves. You two are still young, but I don’t think you’re too young to hear what I’m about to tell you.”

Glancing at the little clock mounted on the wall, the Hunter figured that he had time to give these two kids lessons that would help them develop into spectacular young adults.

“Nore, Ren, you should already know that everyone in this world is different and unique in their own way. No two people are alike. Some people feel fine in their skin and usually lead pretty normal lives. Some people don’t feel like they fit into the skin that they’re born with and try to change, which is perfectly acceptable. Just because you’re born with a certain body doesn’t mean you have to put up with it if it doesn’t make you happy.

These people who usually don’t feel right in their skin end up changing themselves, calling themselves a different name and using different identities that better fit them. I think the answer you’re looking for has to do with gender identity, which you already know as boy and girl. Let me tell you that after this, when you grow up, you’ll notice that there are many more genders than just boy and girl and all of those are perfectly normal and real.

There are boys, girls, transgender people, nonbinary people, agender people, etc. A lot of them usually don’t feel like they’ve been assigned the correct identity at birth, which isn’t as uncommon of an occurrence as you think. Non Binary and agender people usually either don’t stick to a gender, use both genders, or have a preferred pronoun without a specific gender. There’s really no correct way to describe these people because they’re all different, so in the future you’ll just have to figure this out for yourself if you ever encounter someone like this.

Transgender people are a little easier to identify because most of them use the common genders that you’re both used to. Some girls don’t feel like girls and so they change themselves into boys, meaning they begin using the different pronouns that you learned about in school. Vice versa, some boys don’t feel like boys and so they also change themselves into girls, meaning they use the female pronouns. These people can take special medicine that help them turn into the other gender, although it’s difficult to change fully.

All of these people are completely normal, Nore, Ren, and they should be treated with the same respect as anyone else. Does that answer your question?”

Ren nodded his head at the Hunter, sitting quietly in the chair that was too big for him. Nore’s eyes looked a little glazed, but he nodded as well, quiet for once in his life.

The Hunter was pleased with the two, although he felt a bit worried that it might not have made sense.

His worries were relieved though when Nore seemed to return to his senses, instantly raising his hand like he was still in school and blurting out questions faster than could be answered.

“Hold on, one at a time.” The man said, poking Nore in the side to make him quiet down.

The little ginger huffed, but complied. “So you’re saying that boys can be girls? And girls can be boys? Or that girls and boys can be both, or neither?”

From behind Nore the little pink eyed boy huffed, poking at his best friend. “He just said that they can be.”

Turquoise eyes darted towards Ren before returning to the adult, large and hopeful.

“Yes.” He chuckled, ruffling orange locks in between his fingers. “There are nearly no restrictions on who or what you can be.”

“So these transgender boys can wear skirts and stuff, and be called girly things?”

“Technically they’d be called transgender females, but yes, that’s the jist of it. If a boy wanted to transition into a girl, they could start using she/her pronouns if they wanted and start wearing more ‘feminine’ things if that’s what they wanted. They can also take that special medicine called hormones to make their voice higher like a girl’s.”

Nore seemed absolutely entranced, nearly falling off of the Hunter’s lap from leaning forward so far. “Wow, it’s like magic. People like that sound so cool…”

The Hunter cocked his head to the side, a warm smile in place. Gently settling a hand on the child’s back, he asked softly, “Nore, do you think you might not be a boy?”

Inquisitive eyes turned shy, a usually perky face turning to stare at the ground while small hands twisted themselves together anxiously. Small feet kicked at the air while Nore chewed on his bottom lip, avoiding eye contact with the Hunter and only imagining what Ren might be thinking at that moment.

“I don’t think Nore’s a boy.”

A ginger head whipped up and around, wide eyes locking onto narrow pink ones as the child stared open mouthed at Ren who’d just spoken up.

“I think Nore makes a better girl. Actually, I think Nore’s the best and prettiest girl that I’ve ever met.”

While it wasn’t something that he’d usually say, Ren let the words come freely as he maintained eyecontact with the person he called best friend.

“Nore? What do you think of that?” The Hunter murmured, rubbing with the hand that was settled on the younger’s back.

Nore’s eyes just teared up in a way that they hadn’t for at least four years, small tremors wracking a petite frame as liquid sadness slipped out and onto pale cheeks. The ginger hiccupped and sniffled, small, choked sobs beginning to escape closed lips.

The older man quickly pulled the crying child closer to himself, hugging in the most comforting way he could. Waving a hand, he urged Ren to move into the hug as well, figuring that Nore could use all of the positive contact.

All three stayed that way for a while, missing dinner and the designated curfew. Good thing it was a weekend.

When Nore finally finished crying, small hands came up to wipe away salty tears and some snot that had dripped down.

“I think… I-I think that I d-don’t wanna be a boy. I-I’m not a boy. M-My favorite color is pink and I r-really like skirts and I wanna dress pretty like all the other girls do and I don’t wanna have to wear boxers all the time and I want to wear makeup when I’m older like Auntie does and- and-”

She trailed off into hiccups, tears once more escaping turquoise eyes.

The Hunter made soft shushing noises as he rubbed her back, leaning down to kiss her hairline. “It’s okay, Nore. You can be a girl, there’s nothing wrong with that. I kind of had a feeling something like this would happen.”

“Me too, kind of.” Ren agreed, hugging Nore from behind. His pink eyes were bright, trained solely on the friend he held in his arms.

Nore sniffled again, blowing her nose in the tissues that were offered to her.

“S-So I can be a girl? I can have people call me girly things and I can wear girly things and still be normal me?”

“Of course you can. I can make it so all of us call you by female pronouns and I can have Auntie take you out for some new clothes if you’d like. We can also check and see about getting you started on hormone therapy if you want that too. What I want to know is if I need to get your name changed, or if you still want to be called Nore.”

“I like my name, but Nore sounds so manly.” The smallest whined, feeling like she might start crying again if they couldn’t get this figured out.

Ren piped up, preventing the looming threat of more tears. “What about Nora? It’s close to the same thing, but it sounds girly instead of manly.”

The newly dubbed Nora quickly whipped around, throwing her arms around Ren’s neck in a bear hug. “Oh, Renny! That’s a perfect name! Thank you! I always knew I could count on my best friend.”

“Glad that’s settled.” The Hunter said, giving both a little tap on the nose.

Nora giggled, feeling as though an invisible weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She jumped down from the man’s lap, dragging Ren along with her before making a dash towards the door. She figured that things wouldn’t be able to change right away, but she also expected that she wouldn’t remain like this for too much longer.

“Thank you, Uncle! Goodnight!”

The two made a hasty exit, running to their beds and changing quickly into their sleeping clothes. They weren’t too worried about missing dinner, figuring that they’d eat a bit more at breakfast the next morning.

Nora finished changing first, her pajamas much simpler than Ren’s, and hopped onto said boy’s bed, snuggling under the covers to wait.

Ren finished changing eventually, climbing at a much more sedate pace after Nora and under the covers. He turned so that they were facing each other, noses inches apart and breaths gently fanning each other’s bangs. The young boy felt like he knew what Nora was thinking, and his thoughts were confirmed when the little ginger smiled sweetly at him and tapped her slim finger against his nose.

“Boop.”

He shot her a small look, not quite sure what that one word was supposed to mean.

“Boop. It means thanks. It also means I love you, I like you, I appreciate you, I’d be nothing without you. Wherever you go I’ll follow, and whatever you want I’ll get. It means that I promise to be your bestest friend forever and ever and no one will ever compare to how much I care for you.”

Ren smiled a real, genuine smile and whispered, “That’s very eloquent of you. Here,” he reached a hand out to tap his own finger against her nose, making sure to be gentle. “Boop.”

Nora giggled brightly, eyes practically shining in the darkness of the room.

“I’m really glad you’re still my friend, Ren. I’m also really glad that Uncle understands too, although that doesn’t matter as much to me as your opinion.”

“I feel honored. It’s really not that weird that I’m still here, though. Real friends would stay.”

The ginger hummed happily, stretching her arms out to wrap around the black haired boy in a hug. “Do you think I’ll have to move to the girl rooms after this? Do you think they’ll let us stay together?”

The pink eyed boy hugged her back, closing his eyes in thought. “They’ll probably move you, but they might let us stay together if we ask enough. I don’t think it’d be a problem for me to move to the girls’ side.”

“I hope so.”

“We should go to bed, Nora. It’s getting really late.”

“Okay, Renny. Goodnight!”

“Goodnight, Nora.”

After breakfast the next day, it was determined that Nora would go through her clothes and find out what things she wanted to keep and what things she wanted to get rid of. Ren helped her pile all of her clothes onto her bed, sorting the things she wanted into one pile and the rest into another.

Nora felt like she was doing a decent job, keeping more of the comfortable clothes and other things that she just liked in general. The rest was set aside for other children to use since new clothes weren’t always an option in the orphanage. Stowing the clothes that she decided to keep away, Nora found that a little more than half of her original wardrobe was gone.

“Wow.” She whistled, glancing over at Ren who was also staring at her clothes.

“I’d say I need to go shopping, but I technically don’t have money for that.” Slim hands pat against empty pockets, emphasizing the fact that both were flat broke.

“Well it’s a good thing I’ve got money.” A mysterious voice said from behind the two and they whipped around to stare at one of the other Hunters running the orphanage. It was the Huntress who was partnered with Uncle. She was lovingly referred to as “Auntie”. Credit card in one hand and a recyclable bag in the other, she was completely prepared for a day spent shopping.

Nora felt herself tear up a little at the sight and she couldn’t help but throw herself at the older woman in a rib crushing hug.

“Thank you thank you thank you!” She squealed, bouncing up and down.

Auntie laughed and pat Nora on the head, pushing her away a little when the world began to tilt.

“Yes, yes, I know. You’re welcome. Honestly though, I couldn’t help myself and I had to offer. You guys are all like my own children and I can’t just let you go without clothes. Of course you’ll still have a limit and the rest will come from the older girls’ hand-me-downs, but that’s better than nothing. I can even lend you some makeup too when you’re older.”

The woman set a hand on Nora’s shoulder and wrapped the other arm around Ren’s neck, jostling the two around jovially.

“I’ll sure miss you two when you’re gone.”

Ren reached up to lighten the hold around his neck, a fond smile on his face. “Technically Nora and I don’t have to leave.”

“I agree!” The ginger piped up, eyes shining. “You guys could adopt us! Or we could just be taken off the list of eligible adoptees.”

A soothing voice tsked at them while mature eyes gave the two sad looks. Auntie rubbed them both on the tops of their heads, saying kindly, “Oh, I wish I could adopt you guys. I do. But that wouldn’t be fair since we have to leave on missions so often. And we can’t just take you two off the list, that’s not fair. You never know, you might be happy with another family out there.”

“I doubt it.” Nora pouted, but she didn’t argue any further.

“Enough of that. You know what happens happens. Come on, I already know a store that sells all kinds of clothes. A lot of variety for you to pick from.” The Huntress cheered, practically pushing the two outside.

Ren tilted his head back, a bit curious about how the day would go. “Is Nora going to be moved?”

Nora tilted her head back as well, ginger bangs falling into her eyes.

“Yeah, where am I staying now?”

The older woman hummed, chewing on one lip for a while before saying, “We technically can’t move you yet. The other girls might feel uncomfortable about the fact that you still sound so… boy-ish. Not that it’s a bad thing, it’s just that it will be hard to explain and a lot of the children might start asking questions like ‘why can’t so-and-so stay in the girls room’, ‘why can’t she sleep with the boys’, ‘why can’t the boys sleepover for a few nights’, etc. I’m sure you understand why that isn’t entirely a good thing.”

“I guess.” Nora muttered, glancing away awkwardly. She felt a little pensive about being the only one dressed like a girl in the boys living area, but she figured that Ren would stick by her.

The black haired boy understood the reasons for Nora’s separation, but he was concerned because with the way things were looking, he wouldn’t be able to stay with Nora.

“Auntie, I want to stay with Nora. When she moves, will I be able to go with her?” Pink eyes stared up at the taller woman, almost pleading.

The Huntress found herself stuck in a difficult place, two cute children practically begging her to let them stay together and be her family. Shoving her hands into her pockets, Auntie glanced away while the three walked together as she mumbled, “Let me talk to Uncle, okay?”

“Yes! Thank you, Auntie!”

“Thank you, Auntie.”

It wasn’t long until the trio came upon a small clothing store, although the inside was larger than the outside led one to believe. There were racks and shelves full of clothing, ranging from girls to boys to everything in between. The sizes were equally varied, going from the most petite person possible to the biggest, bulkiest of beings. There was even a small section in the corner that sold altered clothing for Faunus.

Auntie grinned down at the grade schoolers in front of her, eyes mischievous.

“Knock yourself out guys. Nora, let’s start you with two outfits. We’ll decide on where to go after that. Remember, just two. We have to maintain at least a modicum of equality.” She warned.

“Aye aye, ma’am!” Nora saluted before dragging Ren off with her to a rack entirely stocked with pink things.

The Huntress watched them go with a fond smile, slowly walking over to the undergarments section to pick out a few things for the younger girl. She had a hunch that the little ginger would appreciate something pink, maybe even with a little lace and a bow or two.

Nora was having the time of her life, quickly skimming through a multitude of various bottoms.

“How do you know if you like something when you go through them so fast?” Ren asked, fingering the end of a pleated skirt.

His smaller friend turned to stick a tongue out at him, turquoise eyes blazing with joy. “I’m going with my instinct. If something sticks out at me, I know it must be perfect! There’s also the fact that I really don’t know what looks good and all, but we’ll deal with that later.”

The pink eyed boy agreed quietly, reached out a hand to browse as well.

“I’m sure whatever you pick will look good. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, after all.”

“Aww, thanks Renny. You’re beautiful too, you know.”

The two of them spent some time looking, Nora pulling out a pair of pink shorts that complimented her legs nicely. Ren pulled out a pink circle skirt that the ginger practically yanked out of his hands, squealing about how cute it looked and how he had nice taste.

Having found two bottoms, the duo moved to a few shelves full of shirts.

Nora had her tongue stuck out as she looked, not sure what would best compliment the pink bottoms she picked.

“Renny, what goes with pink?”

The black haired boy shot her a look, gesturing to himself. “Nora, I’m an eight year old boy. Don’t ask me.”

“But Renny, you always dress so nicely and your colors always match. Even if you don’t know, take a guess.”

“Hm, with pink? Try yellow, or white. Maybe red, although I don’t think it will go that well with your hair color or eyes. A baby blue or mint green might look nice, but I can’t be too sure.”

He stopped talking when he noticed that the small girl next to him was staring, blatantly amazed by his words.

“Wow, Renny. You should go into fashion when you get older.”

Ren stopped browsing to shoot Nora a look, smirking slightly. “I can’t, remember? We’re going to be Hunters.”

Nora perked up at that, renewing her search with vigor. “Right! I almost forgot! I still have to ask Uncle and Auntie about how we’re going to get weapons and stuff. I dunno, do weapons just come with school, or do we need to get jobs to pay for them?”

“Let’s worry about that later. Right now let’s worry about your clothes.”

Some more moments passed in relative quiet, Nora humming a little tune as she shuffled through the options.

Ren had set aside a few tops, although he internally questioned his fashion sense.

Turquoise eyes widened a moment before a hand darted into the pile, pulling out one of the white shirts that Ren had deemed worthy. “Renny, this one looks nice! If I wore it with either of these bottoms it’d still look like it matches. What do you think?”

The blouse she’d pulled out was a regular, short sleeved button down that had puffed sleeves with ruffles around the hems.

“I think it looks great.” A voice said and Auntie walked around the shelf, peering curiously at the clothes the two children had picked thus far. “You’re right about it matching both bottoms. It’ll also compliment your arms very nicely.”

“Thanks!” Nora peeped, setting the shirt aside with the skirt and shorts.

The taller woman scooped up the articles of clothing, smiling as she examined each one closely. Placing them in the bag hanging on her arm, she pat Nora on the back and said happily, “One more shirt and then you have to go try everything on to make sure it fits.”

The ginger saluted, tiny body ramrod straight. “Aye aye!”

It didn’t take long for her to pick out another shirt, this one a nice light green that fit into the pastel of her pink.

“Good, that one really goes with your eyes. Now go back there to the dressing rooms and try them on. Ren and I will wait outside the door to tell you what we think when you’ve got the outfits on.” Auntie instructed, gently ushering the two children towards the back of the store.

Nora found an empty room and went inside, brightly colored clothes in hand. She was a little apprehensive for an unknown reason, tiny fists shaking like leaves in a storm.

The plain dressing room loomed around her miniscule frame, nearly dwarfing her and making her feel like an infant all over again. She glanced all around the cubicle, colorful clothes clutched tightly to her chest. Nora found herself wondering if this was even real, if she would just wake up at some point and find herself back in the orphanage, but without Ren or any of her wonderful caretakers. Turquoise eyes landed on an inconspicuous mirror hanging on the adjacent wall, surface shiny and tantalizing. Padding over to it, Nora stared at herself and felt her throat constrict against her own will.

Staring back at her wasn’t the self image she had in her mind, wasn’t the little girl with cute clothes and long ginger hair that she always figured herself to be.

The person standing in the mirror was a little boy, looking lost and afraid.

His ginger locks fell around his face, messy and so, so short. The t-shirt and shorts he wore were scruffy, suited better for roughhousing and sports than games and crafts. They were also drab colors, dull and well worn having been passed through many pairs of hands.

The sneakers that the boy wore were also scruffy, ripped in some areas and an ugly brown color that Nora absolutely despised. His cheeks were chubby, unattractive and square and the complete opposite of what all the other pretty little girls’ cheeks looked like.

Nora didn’t even want to speak, afraid that she’d start crying if she heard the little boy say words in an octave that’s definitely unusual for a little girl.

“Nora, everything okay in there?”

She was startled out of her staring at the voice of Auntie, jumping a bit before turning to look at the door.

“Nora?”

Now Ren was also questioning her, his shoes could be seen in the gap under the door.

The little ginger carefully set the wonderful clothes down on the little stool in the room before opening the door, peeking her head out meekly and shooting a large eyed look at her caretaker.

“Auntie, could you… could you come in here please?” Her words were so out of character, small and defeated when she was usually so loud and enthusiastic.

The older woman seemed to understand, quietly ushering Ren to sit down on the bench outside once more before she slipped into the changing room with the small girl. Crouching down so that they were nearly eye level, Auntie gave Nora a reassuring look as she reached out a warm hand to wipe away the few tears that spilled over.

“Shh, it’s okay, Nora. Here, let’s start with the shirts, okay?”

Nora complied quietly, raising her arms so that the Huntress could pull her top off. When it was gone, she chanced another glance at herself in the mirror and Auntie hesitated putting the green shirt on to say, “Nora, I want you to take a close look at yourself right now. What do you see?”

“I see… I see a boy.”

“We must not be looking at the same person then. I see a beautiful young girl with a lot of potential ahead of her. I see an intelligent little lady who will change the world for the better. I see a small valkyrie, just waiting to burst out and conquer the challenges ahead of her. I also see a lost soul, in need of guidance and more friends than just Ren.”

“Auntie… Even though we’re doing this, I’m not a girl. I’m still a boy; I’ve got boy parts, my voice is dumb, my hair is dumb, my face is dumb, I’m too fat to be a girl…”

Instantly the larger woman shushed her, eyes growing stern as she held a finger to Nora’s lips.

“I don’t ever want to hear you put yourself down again, got it? Let me show you something.”

Taking the little girl gingerly by the shoulders, Auntie led her around so that she stood directly in front of the mirror. Removing one hand to point it at Nora’s head, she began to teach Nora the wonders of positive body image.

“You’re hair isn’t dumb. It’s just growing more slowly than other girls, that’s all. Give it some time and care, soon enough it could be long like mine, or short if you prefer it that way.”

Moving her finger to gesture at Nora’s cheeks, she said softly, “Everyone’s got a little baby fat on their faces at your age. I did too. Just wait for puberty and trust me, it won’t stay the same forever. Your face is heart shaped to begin with, so I’m sure you’ll become a lovely little lady.”

Nora giggled at the thought of her face being heart shaped, unable to see how her features resembled the symbol of love at all.

Auntie moved her finger once more, pointing at Nora’s shoulders and chest. Amusedly, she poked at Nora’s pale skin while she said, “I know your age group at the orphanage hasn’t had the whole puberty talk yet, but let me tell you something. A lot of little girls your age don’t have breasts like mine and usually won’t have any until they get a few years older. So if you’re worried about your flat chest, don’t be. Just remind yourself that you shouldn’t compare how you look to how the older girls look; if you really want a comparison, do it with other girls your age. You’ll notice that the lot of you have skinny shoulders like these and a flat chest like this.”

The ginger felt a little awkward to be talking about something like that, but she felt a little better about how her body looked now. She had never really been uncomfortable with being shirtless before, but this just helped to reinforce the fact that she was normal.

The Huntress continued her finger’s travels, pointing it in the general direction of Nora’s privates.

“Like I said before, you guys haven’t really had the puberty talk yet, so let me just tell you a few things. This right here? Completely normal and natural as well as private. It’s normal and natural because even if it doesn’t match with how you perceive yourself, it’s still yours and it is still susceptible to your whims. Obviously it’s private because you’ll practically never show this to anyone else, not until you’re much older and even then you might not.”

Small feet shuffled nervously, Nora not quite grasping on how her… thing wasn’t unnatural. She accepted it though and felt herself feeling a little better.

“What about my voice though? All of the older boys have deep voices and I don’t want mine to be like that.”

She shot an imploring look at the woman kneeling next to her, eyes wide with wonder.

Auntie rubbed her chin, thinking her response over carefully. “Uncle told you about that special medicine, right? Well, if you got that, your voice can stay high like mine.”

Nora looked a bit happier, bouncing up and down excitedly. She remembered that medicine that Uncle had told her and Ren about, and now she wanted it desperately. If it would make her more like a girl, it must be magical.

“Come on, let’s finish getting you clothes and we can talk more at the orphanage.” Auntie urged, beginning to pull the shirt on over Nora’s head.

The two managed to get through all of the clothes quickly enough, pleasantly surprised when everything fit the girl perfectly. The older woman went to the register to pay for the clothes while Ren stood next to Nora at the door, shooting a glance at her every now and then.

He’d heard the two talk in the dressing room and he idly wondered how Nora could ever think of herself as something ugly and abnormal.

“Hey Renny, you should have seen me when I tried on the skirt. It’s so pretty! Auntie said that I looked really good in it. What do you think you would have looked like if you put it on? I’m sure you would look perfect, like always. I swear, you could wear a paper bag and rags and still make yourself look like you’re from a fairytale! Really, I bet your parents were models or something. Yep, I bet that’s it. They must have been models and now you’re going to be a Hunter and a model. When we get back you should try on my skirt because now I really wanna see what you’d look like in it.”

The pink eyed boy shot his friend a small, exasperated look, but he didn’t protest. Instead he just shook his head and said, “I’ll try it if you want me to. Also, I don’t think my parents were models.” Otherwise I wouldn’t be an orphan, were the words left unsaid.

The two didn’t have much time to continue their conversation because Auntie had finished paying and was walking towards them, once empty bag now containing new clothes.

“Okay, you guys, we’ve got the goods. Let’s head back and see how the boys are holding up without me, hm?”

Nora and Ren immediately linked hands, Ren holding Nora’s right while Nora held Auntie’s right. The trio walked towards the lively, welcoming atmosphere of the orphanage, Nora chatting about everything and anything that came to her mind.

Uncle was waiting at the door for them, leaning against the frame with an indescribable look on his face. His eyes were hidden from view, but that didn’t seem to stop Auntie from realizing that something wasn’t entirely right.

Leaning down a little, she handed Nora the bag and ordered gently, “You two head inside. I’ll be there in a bit.”

“Aye aye!” Nora chirped, skipping inside while Ren followed at a more sedate pace.

The dark haired boy shot a glance at Uncle when he passed, pink eyes studying the unhappy line of pale lips.

“I’ll let you know later, Ren.” He said, and it always amazed the boy how Uncle noticed everything without seeing anything.

When the two children were out of earshot, happily going to their designated living area to discuss their little adventure, Auntie approached Uncle with a frown. “What’s up?” She asked, hands in her pockets as she silently braced herself for bad news. The woman had a feeling that this news would really only affect one person in the building and she was completely unprepared on how to deal with the aftermath.

Her longtime partner let out a long, defeated sigh as he murmured, “I couldn’t get the estrogen.”

“What? What do you mean? Is she not eligible?”

“It’s not that,” Uncle started, arms crossed tensely and fists clenched. “I couldn’t get it because I’m not technically her parent or legal guardian. Sure, we have some legal rights over the kids as their caretakers, but it’s not enough. It amazes me how something can be so completely out of reach when all I’m missing are a few legal allowances."

Auntie reached out to rest a hand on his shoulder, eyes concerned. “What do we tell Nora?”

Groaning, he shook his head sadly.

“I don’t know.”

The woman pursed her lips, feeling a little sick at how such a bright, loving child would be entirely crushed over the fact that she couldn’t be, well, herself.

“There’s no loophole, nothing?” She tried, a little desperate.

Uncle shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands, the air becoming tense. “I looked. She needs to be adopted and even then she has to be adopted for a certain amount of time before she can get estrogen.”

“Then we should adopt them.” Auntie pressed, moving in closer to her team leader.

The man shook his head, holding his arms out to keep her at a distance. “You know we can’t do that. It’s just not fair.”

“Well it’s also not fair that Nora can’t get estrogen just because we’re missing some legal allowances.” The Huntress shot back, standing her ground.

Her partner gave her an odd look, pushing himself off of the doorframe so that he could stand up straight. “Don’t make me the bad guy here. I want to get Nora hormones as badly as you do, but we can’t do that. No one’s going to give us estrogen if we don’t have the clearance. She’s also only eight, meaning that there is definitely no way she can get it on her own either.”

“But… There’s gotta be something we can do. We’re like their family, we can’t just let these kids be miserable.”

A few moments passed in tense silence, the Huntress staring at her partner while his face was turned towards the ground in contemplation.

“Let me… Let me talk to the others.”

Uncle turned and walked away, head bowed as he entered his office in silence. Auntie watched him go, hands clenching and unclenching while she processed that entire conversation in her mind.

Meanwhile little Nora and Ren were busy sitting on the pink eyed boy’s bed, Nora’s clothes having been stashed away already. The bubbly girl was still chattering away, playing with the inky strands of her best friend. She seemed excited, telling Ren all of the things that she’d do when they grew up. Of course he didn’t mind, having already decided that they’d stay together, no matter what.

“I think when I get older, I’ll let my hair go to here.” Nora said, letting her hand rest around her shoulder area. “It’ll be longer, but not too long. I can’t imagine fighting with long hair is easy.”

Ren quirked a brow at her, his head tilting curiously. “Are you trying to tell me that I should cut my hair?”

Nora instantly shook her head, clutching at black locks almost protectively. “No! Don’t cut your hair. You’re an exception.”

The boy just chuckled a little, eyes closing as his best friend continued to play around with his hair. Nora was very careful, braiding like how she saw the other girls do when they hung out with each other.

When she finished, she scooted herself over so that the two sat facing each other, turquoise eyes locked on pink. Lacing their hands together, Nora swung them back and forth as she drawled, “Sooo, what do you think Uncle and Auntie are talking about?”

Ren stayed quiet, not sure if he should say something. What could he say?

“I bet they’re talking about us and the room arrangements. That must be it since I technically can’t stay here anymore from what Uncle said.” Nora continued on, filling the silence with her own words and unintentionally supplying herself with a false answer.

Clearing his throat, Ren spoke softly so that no one else would be able to hear them. “Nora, I don’t think they were talking about our rooming arrangements. I think they were just talking about you.”

“About me? Oh, maybe it’s about that medicine they keep talking about.”

“Maybe.”

Another silence danced between the two, comfortable and light as Nora entertained herself and her best friend just sat and observed her.

It was sometime in the afternoon when the ginger and her friend wandered out of their living quarters, getting a bit bored with the same bland scenery that they already have firmly implanted in their minds. Nora led the way to the front room where outside people would come to talk to the adults, either leaving children or taking children home.

She didn’t really go there to watch people come and go like some other kids would, but she did stop to look every once in a while. Her main reason for being there, however, was to visit Uncle’s office.

Knocking a tiny fist against the door, Nora and Ren waited patiently for someone to answer.

It wasn’t Uncle who answered, but one of his other teammates instead. This man, a Faunus, was called “Mr. Swan” by the children since his name was too difficult for them to say and the title of “uncle” was already taken.

Dressed in his battle gear, it appeared as though he’d just come from a mission. This theory was supported by the fact that inside the office, Uncle could be seen tucking away an envelope into the drawer that usually held things concerning the establishment’s funds.

“Hello Ren, Nora.” Mr. Swan said, stooping down to give both children a pat on the head. He was careful, both of his weapons still strapped to his arms.

“Hi Mr. Swan!” Nora chirped, instinctively reaching up to try and get a hold of the contraption while he pulled his arm away.

Ren just reached over to take her hands, saving the Hunter from having to lecture Nora about playing with the weapons while she’s still a kid.

“I heard you two went shopping today with Auntie. I’m assuming you picked out something cute?”

“Of course we did! Renny gave me lots of good ideas. There’s so much pink!”

“Good, that’s good. You’ll have to show me sometime.”

“You betcha. Are you gonna be here a while?”

“Maybe. Uncle had some things he wanted to talk about with me.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know yet. I just got here myself.”

“Oooh. Hey Mr. Swan, can you do the thing?”

“ _The_ thing?”

“Yeah! I love it when you do the thing. Renny does too. You look really pretty when you do it.”

Mr. Swan snorted a little laugh, glancing over his shoulder at Uncle before taking the children’s hands in his own. Leading them away and outside, he knelt down to be at eye level with them before the back of his shirt rippled, hidden openings parting to let out white wings.

Nora laughed gleefully, reaching around to pet at one. Her smile was wistful, admiring the feathers before her.

“If I were born like you, I’d want wings like these. I could be like a princess then. And Renny could be my prince! It’d be super romantic, don’tcha think?”

The Hunter nudged her sides, small smile on his face. “You’d make a wonderful princess. All of the boys would fall over themselves trying to woo you.”

“I agree.” Ren murmured quietly, simply standing as he watched the two.

The ginger was about to say something else, but was interrupted when Uncle came walking outside, smile on his face as he approached the trio. “Hello kids.” He called, strolling leisurely as if he had all the time in the world.

“You wanted to talk about something?” Mr. Swan asked, recalling his wings as he stood.

Uncle’s smile faded a little at that, his gait slowing even more.

“About that. Do you happen to know where Berg is?”

“He should be coming back either tonight or tomorrow,but I’m sure you could call him on your scroll if you really need to get in touch.”

Ren and Nora stood side by side, heads craned upwards as they watched the two adults converse with one another. Nora saw nothing wrong, humming and swaying like she usually would to occupy herself. Ren, however, felt that something was different, like the two were having an entirely different conversation underneath the surface.

“Maybe I will have to call him. You see, there’s something I’d like to propose for us.”

“Is this going to be like the time where you proposed we start an orphanage after you had already started it?”

“A little bit. But I’m not the only one who knows about it this time. Auntie also knows.”

Mr. Swan tilted his head, curious and a little frustrated at the roundabout way the conversation was going. “And what is ‘it’?”

“Well… I’d just like you to know that our team officially has two new wards.”

Everything was silent for a while, the two kids occupying themselves with one another and the grass at their feet while the two adults stared at each other, one grinning and the other one contemplative.

Finally, the Faunus decided to break the silence, arms akimbo as he said airily, “I can’t decide on whether or not I should hit you right now. Knowing your luck I’ll just miss.”

“Why would you hit Uncle?” The little girl at their feet asked, peering up at them. She had a half made flower crown in her hands, petals and stems scattered all over the space around her. Ren also peered up at them, a completed flower crown in his own hands.

The adults ignored her question, still staring each other down.

It was with a reluctant sigh that Mr. Swan relented, shoulders sagging. “Who did we adopt?” He asked wearily, shaking his head.

“Them.”

A pale finger was pointed downwards at the two children, Nora and Ren whipping their heads up quickly at the mention of themselves. Two flower crowns hit the ground as they scrambled to stand up, Nora instantly vaulting herself at the taller people while Ren just stared with wide, unbelieving eyes.

The adults winced a bit when a loud sniffle was heard, but the ginger refrained from crying and instead just buried her face in her hands.

To Nora, all of the events afterwards seemed like a blur. The four had moved back into the office, tears now flowing freely since the news really registered in her mind. She hated how she cried so easily, but she couldn’t hate herself for crying happy tears.

Even if life was unfair, she’d gotten something she’d always wanted.

Auntie had been called into the office, smile on her face, and a video call was soon set up for the wayward caretaker that was still out of kingdom bounds doing a mission. This man was simply called Berg by the orphans, his first name and nickname both too hard for the smaller ones to say correctly.

He congratulated the two kids, bright smile nearly taking up the entirety of the camera. Nora cried even more, Ren coming to her rescue and holding her through her hiccups.

It was like the entire office was full of emotion, Nora crying, Ren offering her silent comfort, and the adults huddling around just to make sure that the two were okay.

Finally, Nora managed to pull herself together as she wiped her eyes, her best friend offering her a tissue. Getting herself settled, she sniffed and said shakily, “Y-You guys are our parents now? D-Does that mean Renny’s my brother and stuff?”

The only Huntress in the room smiled, leaning back in her chair. Her response was a bit odd, nothing like what the children had expected. “Well, I wouldn’t say we’re your parents. It’s more like we are your mentors and you are our wards. We just have all of the legal rights that parents do. So technically you and Ren don’t have to be siblings.”

“You’re not our parents?”

“Not if you don’t want us to be.” Uncle said, stroking a hand over Nora’s head soothingly.

The little ginger sniffled again, glancing at the pink eyed boy beside her before back at the grown ups.

“I think… I think I want you to stay Uncle. And I want you to stay Auntie, you to stay Mr. Swan, and you to stay Berg.”

“That’s fine with us.” Mr. Swan stated, sitting straight backed in his seat.

“Yeah!” Berg cheered through the scroll, his usual sunglasses sitting up on his head instead of resting over his eyes. “Nothing’s really gotta change from how it usually is.”

“I agree. This decision was made not only to make you two happy, but it also benefits you personally, Nora.” Uncle leaned himself against his desk, hand waving around as he explained things.

“You see, that medicine I told you about that will help you become a girl can only be acquired through certain means. As your caretaker, I didn’t have enough permission to get you that medicine that you want. But now, as your ‘parent’, I can get you the hormones that will slowly make you a girl over time. That is, if you still want all that.”

Nora didn’t respond right away, turquoise eyes widening as she whipped around to face Ren. Grabbing his hands, she bounced up and down as she squealed in excitement.

“I think she still wants it.” Auntie chuckled, watching the two.

“Of course!” Nora gushed, heart suddenly brimming with a happiness that she hadn’t known for quite some time. “Now my voice won’t get all deep and gross and my face won’t be all chunky and I can stay small and pretty like all the other girls do and… and…”

She rambled on and on, her eyes practically shining over the fact that she could be who she really wanted to be.

Ren watched quietly, his own heart filling with a calm content.

His little world was disrupted when a foot tapped him, Mr. Swan shooting him a curious look.

“You’ve been awfully quiet.” He said, head tilted. “What do you think about all of this, Ren?”

The little boy hummed, searching his mind for an answer. “I think… I’m happy.”

“Well that’s good!” Nora exclaimed, latching onto the boy. “If you weren’t then that’d be a problem. Hey, do you know what being a ‘ward’ is?”

Uncle cleared his throat, opting to explain it to the both of them. “You see, being a ward is like you being our child without actually being our child. You both are under our legal guardianship, but by no means are we your parents, unless you explicitly want us to be. It’s our duty to care for you two, much like we already have been, and make sure you are content in life. As your legal guardians we’ve opted to put you two through some special schools that teach you how to become Hunters and Huntresses, if you guys don’t mind. We’re also giving you a choice about whether or not you’d like to keep staying where you are now, or if you’d like to move into our attached home. When it comes time for you two to make your weapons, don’t be afraid to ask us for help or money to cover expenses.”

Ren was a bit taken aback by how much he and Nora were being offered after having been a pair of orphans not too long ago, but he found that the life being offered was very appealing. Deep down he had a feeling that he and Nora would never be able to stop referring to themselves as orphans, but he highly doubted their caretakers would mind.

“I can’t believe this. Renny, we can be Hunters! Oh Dust this is so cool! We’ll make the best team ever, Renny, believe me.” The small ginger stated, dancing around like a wind up toy.

“Now hold on, little lady.” Came the voice from the scroll, Berg wagging a finger at the pair. “Just wait. You guys are still young and have a lot of time ahead of you. Be patient. Let’s just start with your medicine, Nora, and we can deal with you two becoming Hunters later.”

“I agree.” Mr. Swan stated, standing from his seat with a groan. “If you’ll excuse me, I really must go now. Missions do tend to exhaust people and you should never neglect letting your body heal.” He pointed this comment at the children, tapping each on the nose before leaving the office.

“Come on, let’s eat supper and figure out more stuff tomorrow.” Auntie exclaimed, standing as well.

The trio left the office, Nora skipping happily while Ren walked calmly, but with a noticeable lift to his shoulders.

Uncle watched them go along with Berg, satisfied smiles on their faces.

“So,” Berg began, look smug. “What strings did you pull to get those hormones?”

“Why, I would never do something like that.” Uncle gasped, mock appalled. “I can’t help it if my Semblance just so happened to activate itself.”

“Mhmm. Whatever you say, leader man.”

“As long as it makes the kids happy, that’s all that matters.”

***

About five years passed since Nora and Ren were adopted, Nora beginning her hormone treatment about two months after being taken in and gaining allowance from the people in charge. The estrogen worked well, especially since she wasn’t yet into puberty, causing her to develop into the lovely young lady that everyone predicted she’d be.

Ren developed nicely as well, growing a little more in height while his baby fat began to vanish, turning him into a lean and willowy figure. He was still soft spoken, but people predicted that that would change in due time.

The duo still remained in the orphanage with their fellow children, but they were officially off the list of adoptees and it was well known that they were the wards of the team running the establishment.

At the age of thirteen, both Nora and Ren were responsible and competent enough to begin helping out in the building, mostly keeping the place clean and showing newcomers around.

It was one day, the day of Nora and Ren’s graduation from regular school, that things began to change and expand for the two teens.

“Can you believe it, Renny? We’re finally getting out of that dump and into Combat School!” Nora cried out, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet while she examined her appearance in the mirror.

Ren sat on the bed behind her, watching as she “dolled herself up”, as she liked to say.

“It seems like only yesterday that first wanted to be Hunters.” She continued, running a brush through her ginger locks which now reached her jawline.

“It does.” The black haired boy agreed, hands straightening the clothes they’d laid out.

While graduation from regular school wasn’t something outrageously important, it was still special and the school was hosting a little ceremony for the kids and proud parents.

It was what would happen after regular school that the teens were really excited for, their dreams of becoming protectors of the masses getting closer and closer to being a reality. Uncle had explained Combat School to them, describing it in a way that made it seem like a school that would help to prepare them for an actual school specifically designed for training in the profession. Ren and Nora were excited, eager to create their own weapons.

Turning on her heel, Nora set her brush down and stripped off her pajamas, unashamed of the fact that Ren could see her. Actually, she was quite happy with how her body looked. While not all of the baby fat had disappeared like Ren’s, Nora had instead developed very shapely curves, her waist trim when compared to the flare of her hips and chest. Already at the age of thirteen she could proudly claim that she could wear a C cup size bra, beating out some of the other girls the same age at the orphanage.

Of course there were some things about herself that she didn’t like, like the fact that her thighs didn’t have a gap and her stomach wasn’t flat like other girls’, but she quickly dismissed those worries whenever Ren would call her beautiful.

“Hey Renny, can you strap me in back please?”

Nora had grabbed her bra, pulling it on before turning so that Ren could do the little clasps.

He did this with practiced ease, adjusting it accordingly so that Nora would be completely comfortable. He admired the way her panties matched her bra, both of them being pink and lacy, of course.

The turquoise eyed girl always preened whenever someone gave her a compliment, practically ruffling imaginary feathers like how Mr. Swan would now and then.

Silent musings were disturbed when Nora moved, her face getting dangerously close to Ren’s own. “Renny, you’re staring. See something you like?”

Ren smiled faintly, moving back a little so he could speak comfortably. “No, but I do see many somethings that I like.”

“Boop.” Nora giggled, tapping her friend on the nose before moving to pull on her dress.

A simple ordeal, the dress was a soft pink decorated with little flowers, skirt full and flowy just how Nora had always wanted. Spaghetti straps settled on pale shoulders, Nora ran her hands down the front to smooth any creases and catches to make sure that she looked presentable.

“Zip me?” She asked, turning her back once again to her best friend.

Ren complied, carefully zipping the back so that he wouldn’t ruin the dress or hurt his friend.

“Thanks.” Nora chirped, spinning in a circle just to watch the way the skirt flared. She felt pretty, hair the length she’d always wanted it and dress the perfect amount of pink and frilly.

She felt like a princess.

Running the brush quickly through her hair once more, she put on a bit of makeup to enhance her natural features before turning to huff at her companion.

The pink eyed boy sat innocently on the bed, ever growing hair in a ponytail and the color of his boxers matching Nora’s panties.

“Renny, you need to get dressed.” Nora complained, shoving his clothes at him.

He just gave her a look, slowly picking up his button down and, with all the speed of a snail, pulling it onto his arm. He continued this, internally amused at the impatient look she was shooting him.

“Fine! Gimme!” She cried, darting forward to yank the shirt from him.

Laughing softly, Ren spread his arms obediently for Nora to pull the shirt on, raising his chin so that she could do the buttons properly. Despite what this looked like, he wasn’t doing it to intentionally annoy her.

It was more like Nora had a love for playing dress up and would never admit out loud that if she could, she would dress up everyone she knew.

“There.” She sighed, placing her hands on her hips while she studied her work. Next came the necktie, a soft pink meant to match her dress. It was about a shade off, but they figured it was close enough that no one would notice.

Tying it with practiced ease, Nora pulled her hands away so that Ren could readjust it so that it sat comfortably around his throat.

Standing from the bed, he reached over to grab his slacks, deeming this a task that he could do on his own without any interfering from Nora. Tucking his boxers into place and fastening his belt, he spread his arms so that the waiting ginger could slide on his jacket for him.

The two were picture perfect, looking more like they were going out to a dance instead of a graduation ceremony.

“You look pretty, Nora.” Ren stated casually, acting as a lean to while the smaller girl put her heels on.

Nora turned her head to beam at him, standing up straight when she finished with her shoes. “Thanks, Renny. I think you look very nice as well. Now come on! I wanna graduate as fast as I can so we can go to Hunter school!”

“I don’t think it really works like that, Nora.”

“Oh whatever. Let’s go!”

The two wandered out of the girls area, coming to stand in the front of the orphanage. Some other kids were there that also attended the school, dressed and ready to graduate. These kids weren’t going to Hunter school like Ren and Nora, but they were still graduating all the same and seemed excited about it. There were also kids there that didn’t go to the school, instead deciding that they’d act as the celebratory committee for the older kids that would be moving along in life.

Auntie and Uncle stood among the throng of kids, both dressed for the occasion and trying to herd the graduating class together.

“Nora, Ren, come on!” Auntie beckoned, waving her hand at the two.

The duo hurried their pace, coming to stand by their guardians while Mr. Swan instructed the other kids who weren’t going.

“You guys ready to get out of that place?” Uncle asked quietly, smiling proudly at the two.

Nora immediately agreed, clasping her hands together as she breathed, “Yes, oh yes I am! I can’t wait to be a Huntress. I already have an idea of what kind of weapon I want to make.”

The older man laughed and pat her on the shoulder, tapping the side of his head lightly. “Well, make sure you keep that in mind. It’s important to know exactly what you want when the time comes for you to make it. Don’t be like me and make tweaks and modifications to it halfway through your first year of actually fighting with it.”

“Got it.” The ginger agreed, giving a small salute.

Conversations were cut short when it was time to go, the small crowd of graduating kids exiting the building and walking towards the nearby school.

Ren and Nora held hands on the way, the girl’s heels not even close to high enough to make her the same height as her friend. Up ahead of them the school was decorated with banners and balloons, loudly exclaiming to the world that the eldest grade would be graduating that day.

Entering the school, the students were ushered one way while the parents and guardians were ushered another way, Auntie and Uncle finding seats before setting up the little camera that would allow those left at the orphanage to see the event.

The students were lined up to the side of the stage, one student standing on the stairs and waiting for their cue to walk up. Nora and Ren were placed by each other, each eagerly awaiting the time when they could walk up.

“Lie Ren.”

Nora squeezed her friend’s hand before he left, shooting him a bright smile as she watched him stride across the stage, little ponytail bobbing along the way.

Ren shook the principal’s hand, bowing his head slightly in thanks before exiting on the other side.

“Nora Valkyrie.”

The ginger took a deep breath, swallowing down her squeak of excitement and instead practically prancing onto the stage.

The lights were bright and the floor polished, gleaming and lending to her imaginary kingdom. She held her head up like Auntie had instructed, gliding gracefully to the principal and shaking his hand firmly when it came time for her to accept her acknowledgments.

A few whistles and whoops came from the crowd, most of them being from Uncle and Auntie. There were a few other people cheering too; friendly acquaintances, staff members, and other people from the community that knew her.

The entire event didn’t really last very long, ending just a little after noon. It was no surprise seeing as the school was one of the smaller ones, having a graduating class of about 50.

Nora, Ren, and the other occupants from the orphanage decided to go home early, not wanting to stick around for the potluck lunch, and the ginger immediately grabbed onto the dark haired boy.

“Oh my gosh, Renny, we did it. We are now officially going to be potential Hunters!” She cheered, pumping her fist excitedly.

Ren smiled at her, pulling at his tie but not exactly taking it off.

“We are. Before I forget, Nora, you looked magical walking across that stage.”

The girl blushed, cheeks turning her favorite color as she lightly shoved at Ren’s shoulder. “Oh, be quiet, you. I think you looked kinda stiff, to be completely honest. You don’t like suits, do you?”

“Hm, however could you tell? Seems my secret’s out.” The boy joked, nudging Nora in the side.

The group quickly came upon the orphanage, everyone scattering to go their own way and do whatever it was that they needed to do. Most of the kids headed towards the rooms, planning on changing out of their fancy clothes and into something more comfortable.

Nora and Ren had planned on following them, but were stopped when two heavy arms were draped around their shoulders.

“Congrats, you two!” Berg announced loudly, jostling them a bit.

A bubbly laugh left the shorter one, her eyes bright as she craned her head to see the man behind her. “Thanks, Berg.”

“Yes, thank you.” Ren agreed, a bit disgruntled at having been grabbed so unexpectedly.

The man released them, shooting them a warm look when they turned to face him. Dressed casually, he looked a little odd without all of his big, intimidating weaponry and cool battle gear. Nora eyed him curiously, interested in what it was he was going to tell them.

“So,” He began, clapping his hands together. “Guess who registered you two for Signal Academy?”

“Signal?” The pink eyed boy asked, blinking in surprise.

Signal Academy was known to be an excellent school when it came to preparing potential Hunters, offering a course that allowed you to build custom weapons and providing teachers with plenty of material to educate their charges.

“Signal?!” Nora also exclaimed, body bouncing eagerly. She could practically feel the weight of her future weapon in her hands, the tangy smell of oil and gunpowder filling her senses.

Berg seemed satisfied at their reactions, crossing his arms as he said, “Of course. You two want to be Hunters, don’t you?”

The two nodded their heads, one more energetic than the other.

The older man grinned, letting out a chuckle before waving a hand at them. “Good. Well, this will be the perfect Combat School for you, I’m sure. Now go change, you guys look like monkeys.”

Nora and Ren wasted no time changing into casual clothes, Nora wiping away the makeup on her face while her best friend ran a brush through her hair once more.

“Man, Renny, we’re really going somewhere with our lives, aren’t we?”

“Mhmm. It’s hard to believe.”

“I can’t wait though. I mean, soon we’ll have our own weapons and we’ll learn to fight Grimm and help people and pretty much become superheroes while being incredibly good looking at the same time.”

“So what do you have in mind for your weapon, Nora?”

“Well, I was thinking about a hammer. You know, because I like hammers and because of, well, you know… My real family and stuff.”

“That’s very considerate of you, Nora. I hope it turns out exactly the way you want it.”

“Aw, thank you, Renny. What about you? What do you want?”

“I was thinking daggers. Some kind of pistol too. I don’t have a set idea, so maybe you could help me when we actually get to the point where we have to have a design.”

“Got it! I won’t let you down, Renny!”

The boy smiled, setting aside the brush so that he could run his fingers through soft, ginger hair. Nora smiled, humming in content as her hair was played with.

“This really is the start of something big, isn’t it?”

“I’d like to think so.”

***

It was three years since Nora and Ren graduated from their regular school and entered Signal Academy, beginning on the fast track to becoming Hunters.

At sixteen years of age, Nora was the beautiful young woman that everyone predicted she’d be. Curves more developed, the ginger was like an hourglass, hips more full and developed along with her breasts, while her waist maintained its former ratio with the rest of her body. She was only about 5’1” in height, amazingly short when stuck next to Ren, but she didn’t mind. Nora actually loved being that size, loving it when she surprised other people with her sturdiness and strength.

While others called her a princess, Ren began to call her a queen, always shooting her a smug little smile when he did so and kissing her knuckles like she was royalty.

Nora felt womanly, her bra size growing into an impressive DD while her muscles gained mass and definition, making her more into the valkyries that she was named after. Sometimes her weight and appearance would get to her, other girls not looking as buff as she did, but Ren would always kiss her biceps, hamstrings, triceps, deltoids, and every other muscle he could reach while telling her that her muscles made her a goddess.

Sometimes Nora would wonder why, with all of her muscles, she still had a little extra flesh here and there, but Ren would always wave away her doubts and hug her, telling her that her body was always meant to be soft and it helped to balance out the sheer hardiness of her frame.

Despite all of this flattery and growth in self esteem, Nora had to admit that Ren wasn’t doing so bad himself. Having grown some more during their years in Signal, Ren was now standing at the height of 5’9”.

The hair she always loved had been allowed to become much longer, falling down his back like an inky river.

Voice deepening, all of Ren’s baby fat fell away to reveal a lithe figure, muscles sinewy and not nearly as defined as Nora’s own. She still held the belief that his parents were models, his overall appearance too pretty to disregard as something unworthy of attention.

These two teenagers, on the fast track to becoming some of the finest Hunters the world had ever seen, just finished with Signal’s graduation ceremony.

Nora and Ren had both graduated with wonderful marks, doing well enough that it was little to no surprise for their friends and “family” when they both got accepted into Beacon for their final years of school. The ginger had bounced up and down ecstatically when she opened her letter, nearly screaming about how one of the best schools for Hunter training wanted her to attend and learn something. The pink eyed boy had remained calm when he read his own letter, but one of the finest smiles anyone had ever seen did grace his face for a few hours that day.

The two had a fun summer planned for themselves, hoping to enjoy the little break they’d have before having to go back to lectures year round.

The turquoise eyed girl had rambled on and on about working out and enjoying herself, getting to play with the weapon she’d created during her first year at Signal. It was a large warhammer, endearingly named Magnhild that also functioned as a grenade launcher when she transformed it, firing pink bombs that she’d personally designed and crafted.

That’s where most of Nora’s best marks lay, her abilities concerning fighting, fitness, and weaponry nearly placing her at the top of her class.

The one thing that held her back from taking the top were her test scores.

That’s where most of Ren’s best marks came from, the boy book smart and focused where his friend was not. He concerned himself more with studies while at Signal, acing tests while Nora usually settled for any passing grade.

He did excel a bit when it came to Aura usage, he and Nora both efficient in the art, but Signal didn’t particularly place a grade for that kind of skill.

His own weapons, two automatic pistols with blades attached, was a design he’d thought of one night when discussing what kind of weapon he’d like with Nora. Ren had taken his best friend’s observations to heart, acknowledging the fact that she knew a lot about those types of things and that she was right when she said that they’d suit his fighting style best.

Sparring sessions and training were definitely scheduled for summer break, both wanting to keep in top shape so they weren’t rusty when they got to Beacon.

Currently the two were in the middle of a workout session, Nora doing most of the actual working out while Ren just sat and watched her. He never was too keen on physical activity and that habit of his carried all the way into his teenage years, causing some people to call him lazy when he found himself to simply be conserving energy.

Nora was doing push ups, wearing a pair of pinks shorts and a pink sports bra. Sweat glistened on her body, beads rolling off her face and onto the floor.

“What number am I at, Renny?” She asked quickly, pausing to look over at him.

“I lost count.” He simply replied, sitting back and playing with the towel in his hands.

The ginger giggled, laying flat before rolling onto her back. Reaching a hand out blindly, she grabbed the towel that her best friend offered her and wiped her face, glad that the day wasn’t one that called for makeup or other niceties.

“You’re a terrible workout partner. I’d count if you were doing stuff.” Nora huffed, smiling.

Ren snorted faintly, extending his legs so he could lay down as well. “That’s the thing, though. I don’t ‘do stuff’. I almost certainly would not be able to do as many pushups as you do.”

Nora hummed, taking the time to catch her breath and allow her muscles to relax a little.

They were in one of the rooms at the local gym, just a short walk away from the orphanage. Being Hunters in training the two got a special deal that allowed them to use the facilities almost whenever they wanted.

“Renny, what should we do now? I was thinking weights, but I already did pushups and I feel like my arms don’t need that much more work.”

“How about a wall plank? That works your abs.”

“Sounds fun! Are you gonna do it with me, or are you just gonna sit there and time me?” The girl teased, already rolling over and scooting towards the nearest wall.

Ren hummed as he watched her, weighing the pros and cons of doing something. “Maybe for a little while. You know I can’t do it as long as you can.”

“Well, maybe if you did it more, you could do it like I can. Renny, aren’t you the one that says practice makes perfect and all that other stuff?”

The teenager chose not to reply, scooting over so that he was side by side with his childhood friend. It was simultaneous when they began to walk their feet up the wall, both finding an angle that suited them and bracing themselves for the next few minutes.

Nora could feel her muscles working, always enjoying it when they became more defined after a good session at the gym.

She also enjoyed it when others enjoyed it, complimenting her and staring in sheer wonder at the fact that a small, bubbly girl like herself could have muscles that would make deities cry.

Ren could already feel sweat beginning to bead at the back of his neck and his temples, his arms shaking where they supported him. Only about two minutes had passed and he could feel the burn in his gut.

“Renny, don’t you dare quit yet. Just think of all the times you lecture me! This time you gotta practice what you preach.” Nora urged, turning her head to look at her friend.

Another sheen of sweat graced her body, although unlike Ren she was stable, no hint of shaking in her arms at all.

The pink eyed boy sighed and shifted a little, readjusting his weight and pulling his abdominal muscles in tight once more.

“I’m trying. Don’t blame me if I fall over and knock you down.”

A few more minutes passed in quiet, the two teenagers shifting occasionally before becoming still once more. Times like these were almost meditative for Nora, the repetitive actions of working out really leading her to zone out more than she could doing anything else. She thought about how, during these times, a lot of her real potential showed past her goofy exterior, her sheer might shining through and reminding her that she was a fighter and whatever she wanted, she could get if she tried hard enough.

She thought about Ren and how he, even though he disliked it, worked out with her and always obliged her whenever she needed him to do something.

She thought about Ren and how he, ever the beanpole that he was, could listen to her ramble on for days about whatever came to mind, adding his own insights when he felt it necessary.

She thought about Ren and how he, forever honest and genuine, would never tell her a lie and always took the things she said to heart, though sometimes with a grain of salt.

Feeling a little emotional, Nora balanced herself on one hand before reaching out with the other, tapping the black haired boy on the nose as she said, “Boop.” What she wasn’t expecting was for Ren to tip over, unsuspecting her sudden action.

Loud, whooping laughter escaped Nora’s lungs and she too fell over, landing with a thump next to the curled up boy on the mat.

Turning to poke at him, the ginger giggled and said brightly, “Come on, Renny. No complaining. I bet that wasn’t as bad as you thought it would be.”

Ren just lay on his side, a small noise escaping him as he curled tighter into a ball.

“Nora, you’re the worst.”

The two decided to pack up not long after that, toweling off before walking to the orphanage. The taller boy maintained his stony silence the entire time, turning his head away from Nora with an exaggerated flip whenever she tried to speak to him.

The smaller girl giggled every time, deciding to make a game out of who would crack first.

Unfortunately the two returned before either could really “win”, but Nora figured that had there been a winner, it would have been her. The two split up for showers, taking their time to change into pajamas for the evening.

They met back up in the girls’ living area, Nora whipping out her brush so that she could play with Ren’s hair.

“Hey Nora, Ren, can I see you two for a minute?” A voice chirped from the doorway, making the two pause before they even got the chance to sit down.

It was Auntie, leaning against the doorway and smiling at the two while she held a piece of paper in her hands.

Nora and Ren glanced at each other, the ginger shrugging her shoulders before they walked their way over and into the little office that they were becoming increasingly familiar with. Inside sat Uncle and Berg, Mr. Swan having gone out on a mission to get some more lien for the orphanage. Nora perched herself in one of the office chairs, patting one of her legs jokingly for Ren to sit on.

“Hello, you two.” Uncle said, tilting his head in greeting.

“What’s up?” Nora questioned, feet tapping the ground while Ren seated himself on the arm of her chair.

“Well, we all know that your time at Signal has ended and that you guys are moving onto Beacon now. There’s actually some things that we’d like to discuss with you two about that.”

“Like?” Ren prompted, curious as to where this was going.

“You see, when you two begin school at Beacon, which is another boarding school like Signal, you’ll be attending classes much longer and intense than before. You won’t really get as many breaks and much less time to come visit us.”

“This is why we’ve come to a tough decision.” Berg cut in, face grim for once.

Uncle seemed a little irked at being disrupted, but he continued anyways. “The four of us decided, as your legal guardians, that you two are of the age where you don’t need us to really look out for you anymore. That isn’t to say that you can’t come to us for money, shelter, or other basic needs, but what we’re trying to say is that, once your time at Beacon begins, we don’t want you two to come visiting the orphanage. Not until you graduate and become Hunters, understand?”

Silence reigned the room for a while, Nora and Ren taking their time as they tried desperately to compute what was being said to them.

“Are you, like, disowning us?” Nora finally squeaked, eyes wide and shining.

“No, no! Nothing like that. We’re just saying that we don’t want you guys to visit us while you’re attending Beacon because we want you to make other Hunter friends and to focus on your studies more than concerning yourselves with how we’re doing.” Auntie remedied, splaying her hands in a placating manner.

“We’re not allowed to contact you at all?” Ren asked, tone calm as usual.

“Well, you are allowed to contact us via scroll,” Berg began, pulling out the device in question. “The thing is, we’d like you guys to try and do that as minimally as possible. I guess you could say that this is us trying to wean you off of being children and more into becoming adults.”

“But, we’re not adults.” The younger girl argued, of the mindset that she was being abandoned once more. In all honesty, Nora had to admit that she felt a tight sensation beginning to grow in her chest, squeezing off her air and making her feel shaky.

She couldn’t really explain how she felt at the moment, she just knew that there was a lot of sadness and negativity tugging at her core, gouging a fissure where her heart and positive feelings should have been. Her fingers trembled against her command, her eyes beginning to water and her lips beginning to quiver. The girl tried to hold off on blinking, not wanting her tears to spill and reveal her sadness to the others around her, but large, hot droplets fell anyway, plopping wetly onto her bare thighs.

A small hiccup escaped her, her breathing ragged and stuttering. Nora felt as though she’d begin wheezing, her head feeling hot and light as she tried to keep her emotions bottled up and to herself. Already she could feel her face doing that horrid scrunching thing it did when she cried, brows drawing together while her mouth formed a deep frown.

“Nora?” A gentle voice probed, two blissfully cold hands reaching out to cup her face.

Nora shook her head, trying to lean back in the chair that she already had her back pressed against. It was no use, the hands followed her movements and prevented her escape.

“Nora, calm down. Look at me?” She faintly recognized the voice as Ren’s, but it was hard. There was so much static in her head, so much pain and self-loathing over the fact that she was going to be left, again, by people she loved.

Body like a stray paper caught in a hurricane, Nora’s entire being shook as she pulled her knees up in an attempt to curl into a ball, more hiccups escaping her as she began to wheeze in earnest.

Faintly some shuffling was heard before there was a click, the room settling once again into silence aside from the desperate crying of a young girl.

Ren watched his friend carefully, trying to figure out if she was full on into an attack or not. He’d figured that, because of Nora’s history, this news would affect her greatly, but he hadn’t anticipated that it would be this bad.

Grabbing the box of tissues nearby, he crawled onto the chair with her, knees settling on either side of her body.

“Look at me, Nora. Let me see you, please.”

He didn’t really want to be forceful with his best friend, so he took his time, reaching his hands out to rub at tense shoulders and smooth over a fluttering pulse. While not too practiced at it, Ren let some of his Aura come out, attempting to soothe the worst of Nora’s pains. Honestly such a display was hard for him, his friend reaching a level of emotion he’d never experienced before.

The hyperventilating subsided, turning more into a ragged inhale and exhale, and Ren was thankful that some of his attempts were working.

“Nora, could you put your legs down, please?” He ventured, unsure if he’d have to do it for her or not.

Nora shook her head, drawing her legs in even tighter as her body trembled.

Ren remained silent, continuing to run his hands over her shoulders and neck while he thought of ways to get her to relax a little and open up. He leaned his head forward, bumping his own forehead against her’s as he thought, giving her time to collect herself.

Vividly he could remember the lost child standing at the door of the orphanage, crying because her parents had left so suddenly and unexpectedly. They were both about four at the time, young and soft and sensitive to the pains of the world. He remembered becoming that child’s friend, promising to remain close no matter what happened. He remembered gaining a very important person in his life that day, making himself a better person simply by making that little child smile when all seemed lost.

Letting out a soft breath, Ren murmured quietly, “Nora, you remember when you first came here?”

A small hiccup was his answer, her head nodding against his own.

“Remember when your parents left, and you thought you were all alone?”

Another nod was given, a sniffle accompanying it.

“Remember when you stood at the door, completely stunned? Remember when you cried that night, feeling betrayed?”

“Uh huh.”

“Remember what I did for you?”

“Y-Yeah.”

He at least had her talking, a good sign that she was beginning to calm down and come back to her senses. All he had to do now was to make her calm down fully, listen to what the grown ups had to say, and possibly comfort her again if she happened to cry later on.

Moving slowly so he wouldn’t startle her, Ren grabbed onto Nora’s legs one at a time and stretched them out, settling them so that they draped on either side of his hips. Nora allowed this, hands still up and covering her face although she was no longer shaking and her muscles had relaxed considerably. A few sniffles and hiccups still escaped every now and then, but the majority of her wheezing and sobbing had passed. Ren rubbed his head against her own, not caring if he messed up their hair, and he rubbed his hands up and down her sides, firm and consistent.

“You’re worried that they’re leaving us, like your parents left you.”

“...”

“You think you must have done something wrong to make them want to stop seeing us, even if it’s only for a few years.”

“...”

“You think that, just because we won’t have them, you’ll be left all alone. What about me?”

“...”

“You don’t think that I’ll still be by your side when everyone else is gone?”

“...”

“You don’t think I’m worried about losing contact with people I care about?”

“...”

“You don’t think this hurts me too?”

“...”

“That’s okay, though. My feelings aren’t what’s important right now. You are.”

Ren’s voice remained calm throughout everything, never sounding angry, accusing, or sad. Just the same, soft monotone that he used when speaking about all other aspects of life. Nora hated him for that, hated that he could remain so plain and simple when she was a mess of emotions.

“Speak to me, Nora.”

“Shut up, Ren!” She snapped, finally moving her hands away from her face and shoving them against the boy’s chest.

He moved, but only slightly. She hadn’t hit him hard enough to dislodge him from the chair, but he knew that without his Aura, there’d definitely be bruises there. Good thing he had plenty.

“Shut up, just shut up! What do you know? You’re parents didn’t leave you when you were four! You never knew them! You didn’t have to worry about any kind of emotional attachment to them! Mine just ditched me, telling me straight to my face that I couldn’t be their child anymore.”

“...”

“You aren’t like me, Ren! You don’t know how I feel, how every time I think about guardians and parents, I think of how mine must have been able to tell that I wasn’t right in the head and wanted to leave me because I would grow up to be an abomination! I’m a fucking boy, Ren! A boy who wears skirts, has boobs, and feels like crying some days when he looks at his penis.”

“...”

“Ren, it’s the same this time, isn’t it? It’s something I did. They’re leaving us just because I’ve become something disgusting, something they can’t deal with. I mean, I’m already a walking monstrosity and it’s not fair because you’re getting dragged down with me when you’ve literally done nothing wrong your entire life!”

Nora’s eyes were angry, turquoise burning with an internal flame even as they began to fill with tears once more, angry and full of molten rage. She had her tiny hands fisted in Ren’s shirt, almost hard enough to tear fabric. Quick, harsh breaths filled up the room and Nora realized that she was panting, much like a beast, and had leaned forward to really get in her best friend’s face. Said face was stoic, just staring calmly back at Nora as if waiting for her temper to settle back down.

“Are you done?”

“No, I…! Yeah, yeah...”

The ginger slumped back, as if in defeat, and reluctantly released her hold on Ren’s shirt, folding her arms defensively across her chest. Her gazed turned downwards, a few tears forging new trails down rosy cheeks.

“Nora,” Ren began, tone soothing as he lifted his hands once more to stroke Nora’s shoulders comfortingly, “Your feelings are completely valid. However, there are a few things that must be addressed.”

He cleared his throat, going through the items in the order that they were said.

“You’re right, Nora, my parents did not leave me when I was four. They left me when I was an infant and while you are correct to assume that I’ve formed no emotional attachment to them, you are wrong to think that their absence doesn’t affect me as equally as yours does you. Trust me, I’m in no way offended, but don’t say things like that so freely. Someone other than me might take much more offense to that and do something brash. You’re free to vent your feelings and be yourself, but you have to remember that you need to be considerate of other people’s feelings too.

“I didn’t think this was necessary with how well everything seemed to be going, but Nora, you are not an abomination. You are a human being, a girl, and you deserve respect just like anyone else. You can’t blame yourself for your parents leaving you because you don’t know why they left you. You aren’t them and you can’t read minds. Just like me, we both have no clue why our parents decided that they weren’t fit to raise us. Don’t for one moment blame it on your identity, though.

“Finally, I feel like you’re making too many assumptions at this point. You know what they say about people who make assumptions. Just because Uncle, Auntie, Berg, and Mr. Swan are not allowing us to visit while we’re at Beacon, they have some decent reasons for it. Let them explain and I’m sure you’ll understand what they’re talking about. Also, you should know better than to assume I’ve never done anything wrong in my life.”

Nora looked a little guilty at that point, shoulders hunched and eyes averted while she sniffled and hiccupped, a fresh wave of tears spilling like a waterfall down her face.

Ren just reached a hand out, tissues wiping up the mess before it could get everywhere.

Throwing the handful away, he leaned back in and was immediately crushed into a hug by Nora, the girl apologizing profusely while her cries began anew.

The two sat there for what seemed like hours, talking, apologizing, and hugging until Nora felt like she could properly take back control of her body and mind.

“I think,” Nora began, a watery smile coming to her face. “I think this is the most I’ve heard you say in a long time.” She giggled a little, grabbing a few tissues so she could attempt to clean up the mess that was her nose.

The boy chuckled, grabbing his own tissues so that he could dab at her face as well.

They remained like that for a bit longer, Nora taking time to compose herself, before the pink eyed boy called the adults back.

The moment the three present were back inside, Nora and the trio ended up apologizing to each other simultaneously, heads bowed awkwardly.

She laughed at that, opening her arms and accepting hugs from her elders.

“If this is really that bad, we don’t have to cut contact while you’re at Beacon.” Uncle exclaimed, a worried look on his face.

“Yeah, we just want the best for you guys.” Auntie agreed, stroking Nora’s hair.

The girl hummed, hands playing with the hem of Ren’s stretched out shirt.

“Well, maybe try explaining it to me again. Ren said that I just didn’t understand what you guys were saying, which doesn’t really surprise me.”

Uncle smiled, glad that Ren had at least gotten some sense into the girl. “What we’re saying is that, when you two go to Beacon, the four of us want you both to focus on school and your friendships instead of worrying about us. So that’s why we’ve decided that when school starts, you shouldn’t visit us at all. It’s a way to keep you in the school mindset and you can also think of it like an end goal; you graduate from Beacon, you can come visit us and tell us all about your accomplishments.”

“Of course, if that’s too much, you guys can always call us once every one to two weeks.” Berg added in, eyes hopeful.

Nora considered the information, giving it time to process instead of just jumping to a conclusion like she did the last time.

“I think,” She said, head tilted curiously, “I think I get it. And I think I’m okay with that. How about you, Renny?”

“Fine with me. This is Vale, it’s not like we don’t have a chance to run into anyone.”

“Oooh, that’s true!” Nora agreed, hands clapping merrily.

The five people in the office talked a bit more, getting business settled and determining what everyone would do when the next school year really did start. Nora and Ren would have to go shopping, needing enough clothes to get them through their next three or four years living at Beacon.

It was also settled that the two would obviously need extra money for life necessities, a special delivery of Nora’s hormones, and special cards that would grant them permission wherever they’d need a parent or guardian signature for something.

Having gotten pretty much all of their business settled, Ren and Nora returned to Nora’s bed for the night, cuddling up close to each other. They lay facing each other, arms and legs tangled in a jumbled mess. Turquoise eyes closely studied pink and vice versa, gazes intense and unwavering. There were a lot of words left between them that were unsaid, a lot of thoughts and emotions that were kept in the dark just because of how indescribable they were.

Ren reached out a hand, tapping Nora on the nose. “Boop.”

Nora giggled, repeating the action to Ren as she quietly sing-songed, “Boop.”

All in all? Nora and Ren felt more than prepared for the new challenges they would face at Beacon.

***

For a pair of orphans, the childhood friends weren’t doing so bad during their first couple of days at Beacon.

Both at the age of seventeen, Nora and Ren were faring well among all of the other new students, everyone so unique and different that they had to take a moment just to absorb all of the culture shock.

A year older, Nora was much the same as she was when she was sixteen, but she had grown, not physically, but mentally. Sure, she had moments when her younger side would come out and make her look like a complete idiot, but there were times where she displayed some of the wisdom that Ren had rubbed off on her. She wielded her weapon like a pro, practicing with it and working on it nonstop during her free time. Sporting the new clothes Auntie had bought her, Nora felt like she could blast her way into the heavens without the fear of falling back down.

A year older, Ren was also much the same as he was when he was sixteen, but he had also grown, not physically, but emotionally. Sure, he had moments where his reactions were as exciting as a spoon, but he also had moments where his displayed emotions were as exciting yet soft as a butterfly’s wings. He wielded his weapons like a pro, fighting with them as though he were dancing to his own music. Sporting the new clothes Auntie had bought him, Ren felt as though he’d finally found some kind of center, some kind of zen that grounded and tethered himself to this reality.

Both Nora and Ren had made it into the school, surviving through initiation and finding their new team which they would spend the next four years of school with. They were fortunate enough to become partners, Nora stating that the fates must have been looking out for them.

Jaune and Pyrrha were nice enough, easily recognizing that the two were childhood friends and needed their own bubble sometimes.

The little valkyrie had decided that she wouldn’t tell the two about herself, not yet. Not until she could really tell what kind of people they were. Ren easily went along with her sentiments, also wishing to study the pair a bit before passing any kind of judgment on them.

About a week had passed before the two finally made a decision.

Nora had approached Ren, dorm room vacant except for the two, and settled on his bed, arms flopping haphazardly and mouth set into a perturbed line.

“Is something wrong?” Ren asked quietly, running a cloth methodically over one of his guns.

“Renny, I think something’s wrong with me.” Nora replied, shifting her eyes to look at her teammate and friend.

He set aside his weapon, carefully arranging things before turning to give his best friend his full attention. “Are you sick?”

“No,” The girl whined, waving her arms a little. “I’m not sick, silly. Well, I might be. I dunno. I just, I’ve been thinking, and I think Pyrrha and Jaune aren’t that bad. They’re actually pretty nice.”

The pink eyed boy sat back, relaxed from his alert position. “I agree. Are you going to tell them about you then?”

Nora scratched at the side of her head, legs kicking lazily from where they hung over the edge of the bed. “That’s the thing. I pretty much know I will so it’s better to do it sooner than later, but I also have another kind of problem.”

“What would that problem be?”

“Renny, Pyrrha’s hot. And Jaune is cute. I think I have a crush on both of them, but that’s weird. I wish I could call Auntie and ask about this, but I don’t wanna disappoint them. I also don’t wanna embarrass myself if neither one feels the same way about me. Do you know how embarrassing that would be? ‘Local orphan doesn’t know Dust about love’. I would die!”

The boy considered his friend’s words, leaning back on his hands while he thought of how to best respond. “You know, I’ve heard somewhere that you can date more than one person.”

The ginger rolled over, flailing an arm out to lightly hit Ren’s knee. “Oh, that helps me so much. There’s still the fact that I’m not, well, what someone would normally expect and we still have no clue if they even like us!”

“I’m sure you’re overthinking this, Nora.” Ren replied flippantly, closing his eyes calmly.

She puffed up her cheeks, pouting for a moment before launching herself to tackle the boy to the bed.

“Then you ask them out! All four of us could date if it’s not so hard.”

Pink eyes stared up at turquoise, collected and even a bit impish. “Fine. Don’t blame me if I end up being right.”

“You’re impossible.” Nora complained, rolling off of her friend and back onto the bed.

It didn’t take long for Pyrrha and Jaune to return to the dorm room, both chatting amicably as they each sat on their respective beds. Nora and Ren observed them covertly, the black haired boy once again working on his guns while the bubbly girl pretended to read a comic.

Pyrrha, ever the sweet one, turned to face the two, characteristic smile on her face. “How was your guys’ day? I’m sure it must have been boring for you, Nora, since you have so much energy."

Said girl just laughed and returned Pyrrha’s smile, waving a hand dismissively. “Nah, my day was great! I gotta spend more time with Renny. How was your day with Jaune?”

“I can’t complain, really. It was good. I do like these days where we partners can just get to know each other better and all.”

Jaune seemed a little embarrassed by the indirect compliment, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly while a weak chuckle escaped him. If one looked close enough they’d notice a faint, pink blush decorating his cheeks. Clearing his throat, Jaune attempted some of his own conversation, directing it at the other male in the room. “So Ren, what about you? How was your day?”

The boy put his guns aside, making eye contact with their leader when he said, “Pleasant. I quite enjoyed myself today.”

“A-Ah, that’s good.” Jaune stated, not sure how to continue the conversation with such a bland reply.

“And how was yours?” Ren supplied, deciding to at least make an effort. He’d need it if he was going to prove Nora wrong.

The blonde glanced at Pyrrha before looking back at the dark haired boy, a more natural smile on his face. “Good. Pyrrha is a great partner and really knows her stuff. I feel like I learned a lot today that I didn’t know before.”

“I’m sure it couldn’t have been that much,” Nora argued, giggling happily. “We’ve all gone to Combat School, so you should’ve at least known a few things.”

“Right.” Jaune acknowledged, clearing his throat once more.

The four fell into comfortable silence, Ren stowing his weapons away while Pyrrha and Jaune left the room briefly for change into their pajamas. Nora and the pink eyed boy were already wearing theirs, not having left the school building for much of anything yet. The turquoise eyed girl set aside her comic, shooting Ren a quizzical look.

The boy just shook his head, indicating that the time wasn’t yet right.

Instead he opted to observe the way they all interacted for a while, watching whenever Pyrrha and Jaune would share looks longer than was normal, or when Nora and Pyrrha would talk about complicated weaponry subjects together with eyes full of passion. He also observed how Jaune spoke to Nora, bright and amused when it came to his orange haired teammate.

He internally considered how Pyrrha and Jaune interacted with himself, both kind and respectful of his boundaries while also being as inclusive as possible.

Nora, finding all of the waiting to be annoying, decided to take matters into her own hands. Leaning in towards Pyrrha, she asked in a teasing voice, “Hey Pyrrha, what do you know about love?”

The redhead sputtered a moment, not expecting a question like that. “About love? Why this question all of a sudden?”

“Wait, love?” Jaune questioned from his bed, head popping up from his scroll. “What about love? Wait, Nora, I thought you and Ren were dating?”

Two snorts were heard, one quieter than the other. Ren held a hand to his mouth, turning his face away to hide his amusement while Nora outright cackled at the idea. Jaune looked embarrassed, rushing to try and save himself.

“I-I mean you two are so close! Childhood friends becoming Hunters together? Sounds like romance to me. Nora, stop laughing!”

“Sorry, sorry!” The girl cried, trying vainly to stifle her giggles. “It’s just, it’s weird to think of something like that. Renny and I have known each other so long, I’ve never even considered dating him.”

“Nor I her.” Ren agreed, shooting an amused look at their team leader.

Pyrrha seemed to be enjoying the sudden turn the conversation had taken, deciding to add her own two cents. “Why not date Ren, Nora? You two seem really happy together, not to mention you both look very good together.”

Nora cocked her head, trying to imagine what it would look like if she and Ren ever dated. Honestly, the image in her mind wasn’t too far from how they were currently. “I dunno, I guess we just never thought about dating or anything. Always too busy with other stuff. I mean, are you dating anyone, Pyrrha? Or are you, Jaune?”

She got negative responses from both teenagers, one more sheepish than the other.

“There! So that settles it; none of us are dating.” The ginger beamed, triumphant for no reason at all.

A lapse in the conversation caused the four to get awkward, no one wanting to do something else in case someone had something to say and no one knowing exactly what they could say. Ren shot Nora a look, eyebrow quirked in question. She sighed quietly, nodding her head.

“Hey, Jaune, Pyrrha. I’ve got a question for you two. It’s kinda serious.” She began, knocking her knees together as her fingers twitched. She wanted Magnhild, wanted the familiar safety that she felt whenever holding her baby.

The redhead sitting near her smiled comfortingly at her, resting a hand on her knee. “What is it, Nora? You can ask us anything.”

“Yeah.” Jaune agreed, although a bit absentmindedly.

“Well,” Nora began, settling her fidgeting so that she wouldn’t disturb Pyrrha, “I was wondering what you guys think about people who are different.”

“Like Faunus?” Pyrrha questioned, green eyes confused.

Turquoise eyes closed as Nora shook her head, opening them again to glance at the two awkwardly. “Uh, I guess. It’s honestly something else though.”

Jaune seemed very confused, trying to think about everything that fit into the category of “different”. Counting on his fingers, so far he only had one up and it was for the same reason that Pyrrha had stated.

“If not Faunus, then what?” He asked, leaning forward as if that would help him find the solution.

“Well, other than Faunus I was thinking, like, what do you think about people who are different because of who they are?”

The taller female still didn’t seem to be getting it, brow slightly furrowed as Nora beat around the bush.

“I don’t think I understand, Nora.”

Ren decided to chip in, always coming to Nora’s rescue when she needed it most. “I think what Nora’s trying to say is, what do you two think of people who identify as a gender different than what they were assigned at birth? Or people who might like people of the same sex, or something else entirely?”

“You mean, like transgender people?” The blonde boy clarified, sitting up straighter. It seemed he had some experience with them.

“Yeah, that.” Nora agreed, wringing her hands together nervously.

Rising from her own bed to sit on the space next to Nora, Pyrrha smiled gently at the girl as she asked softly, “Nora, are you trying to tell us that you weren’t born female?”

The ginger nodded meekly, avoiding eye contact as she braced herself for what the two might say about her. She was prepared, telling herself repeatedly that she wouldn’t cry if they said she was disgusting, or worse.

It was Jaune’s next comment that caused her to perk her head. “I think trans people are pretty nice. One of my older sisters is dating a trans man, and he’s cool. I already thought of you as a really neat person before you even said anything about being transgender, and I still think you’re neat.”

“Likewise.” Pyrrha agreed, leaning over to bump shoulders with the smaller girl.

Nora practically blossomed, her head raising to face the others while her smile grew to its usual size. “Thanks guys. That means a lot to me. I won’t bother you with a lot of boring details right now, but yeah, I guess it’s important that you know I was born male. But hey! I’ve come a long way.”

“Yes you have.” Ren intoned, proud that Nora at least got this off her chest. He was also happy the other two were accepting, glad he didn’t have to hate them.

The redhead sitting next to Nora hummed a little, observing the girl. “I’m curious, Nora. What bra size are you? I have to say, I might be a touch jealous.”

The valkyrie seemed amused, eyeing Pyrrha as well. “I don’t think you have much to be jealous of. We might be the same size. I’m a smaller DD, you?”

“Oh, I’m DD as well.” Pyrrha stated, becoming more casual as the two found something in common. “This means we can share bras, if you’d like. I’m sure yours are quite adorable.”

“Mhmm, you betcha! I bet yours are pretty hot.”

Both girls flushed at that, Jaune nearly tipping over where he sat when the words actually registered in his brain. How could a simple conversation about bras turn into indirect flirting?

“Nora?”

“Ren! Renny boy! My main Ren! How are you today?”

Nora’s face was red, her eyes pleading with Ren’s own.

“I mean, I’d have to agree. I’m sure they look very nice.” He stated, saving the day once again. He figured he might just start charging lien for every time he did this.

Pyrrha laughed awkwardly, gesturing over at one of the shelves in the closet as she said merrily, “Here, let me show you some, Nora. You can show me yours too, if you’d like. I have this lovely white one that I think you’d really enjoy. It’s also really soft and the straps don’t dig into your skin, which is a definite plus.” Nora seemed pleased, going with the taller girl to examine the articles of clothing.

The dorm was put into a mildly comfortable atmosphere, the two girls giggling with each other, Ren sitting in peaceful silence, and Jaune sitting in uncomfortable silence.

“Hey, Ren.” The blonde began, walking so he sat on the same bed as the dark haired boy.

The teenager in question looked up when Jaune approached, scooting over to make room for him.

“Yes, Jaune?”

“So, if you and Nora aren’t dating, does Nora… Uhm, you know, like Pyrrha?”

Pink eyes flickered to the closet in the room, making sure the girls were occupied, before he answered. “Well, we’ve talked, and Nora has mentioned that she does harbor some feelings for Pyrrha. Seeing as we’ve never experienced something like this before, we don’t exactly know how to pursue this.”

Jaune cocked his head, curious. “Why do you say ‘we’ like you’re also feeling what Nora feels?”

“...”

“Dust, do you have a crush on Pyrrha too?!” This was asked in a hissed whisper, blue eyes becoming comically wide.

“I never said that, although I do admit that Pyrrha is an intelligent and attractive individual. What I’m saying is that Nora and I are slightly uneducated when it comes to matters of dating and romance. Also labels of sexuality, as I’ve heard others use before.”

The slightly taller male gave him an odd look, mouth hanging slightly agape.

“Are you being serious?”

“Completely.”

“Okay, wow, uhm,” Jaune began, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. How did he talk about this? He was no love guru, Dust, he practically knew nothing about it either. “Well, I hope you at least know the basics? Straight, gay, bi, etc.?”

Ren took a moment to think, trying to recall if he had heard anything before. “Straight, gay, and bi, I believe, are the only ones we know about.”

The blonde nodded along, glad that his comrade had the basics. “Good, good. Honestly, I think those are the most important you should know, but that’s just my opinion. I’m probably not the best person to ask for proper statistics since I’m straight. Haha, yup, super straight. All about the ladies.”

“I see. I suppose I could call myself bi, however I think a title like that might be a bit too specific. Gender holds no bearing over my feelings, it’s just the personal relation that matters.” The smaller male stated, eyeing Jaune curiously. His instincts were telling him that his leader was getting defensive about something, but he couldn’t tell why or what.

“Oh, I see, so you’d date a dude, huh?” The larger boy laughed, sounding way too cheerful than what the conversation called for.

The black haired boy gave the other a look, nodding his head. “Yes, that would fall under the whole gender not mattering to me. But, I do have a question. Is it normal to like more than one person, and is there a name for this feeling?”

Jaune practically choked, eyes bugging as he grabbed onto Ren’s shoulder. “You like more than one person?!”

From over by the closet, Nora had her face hidden in her hands while Pyrrha turned towards the two males, faint smile on her face. “I think the term you’re looking for is ‘polyamory’, or something along the likes. I have plenty of friends and relatives who are polyamorous.”

“Polyamory?” Ren tried, tasting the word on his tongue.

The poor blonde next to him was still mildly freaking out, pestering the shorter. “Ren, are you trying to tell me that you’re interested in a polyamorous relationship? With Pyrrha and who?!”

“Jaune, I think you’re making too many assumptions of me.” The pink eyed boy stated, tone flat.

Over by the closet Pyrrha was laughing, holding her sides and covering her mouth from how amused she was. She’d heard the entire conversation between Ren and Jaune; it was hard not to, considering they were all in the same room. Nora just looked mortified, glaring at Ren whenever he looked over at her.

Having enough of his leader’s babbling, Ren raised a hand to silence the blue eyed boy. “Now, let me explain something before you freak out again.”

“I wasn’t freaking out.” Jaune pouted, but he complied.

“Would it really be so bad if I found Nora, Pyrrha, and even you attractive and desirable? It’s not hurting any of you. Would you really be so opposed to the thought of someone finding things they like in you?”

“That’s not… I mean, that wasn’t what I was saying, necessarily, but uh, sorry if it came out bad.” The blonde stuttered, blushing faintly as he turned his gaze away in embarrassment.

Pyrrha, idly playing with a bra in her hands, smiled at Ren and asked, “Is this your way of asking all of us out?”

“It might be.” The pink eyed boy teased, a faint smile decorating his face. “But only if you’re okay with that, and if you’re okay with dating the others as well.”

“Of course.” The redhead responded, glancing to her right and at Nora who was still hiding away. “I have to admit, I did think that you two were quite something when I first laid eyes on you. I’m just glad my feelings weren’t completely unfounded.”

Nora squeaked when an arm wrapped around her waist, strong and entirely different than how Ren’s arms felt. Looking at Pyrrha, she stuttered, “You’re o-okay dating me?! Really?!”

Her only response was a small, chaste peck on the cheek. The ginger could have sworn that she’d died and this was all just a dream. She returned the sentiment, awkwardly craning her neck so that she could peck the taller girl on the cheek as well. Pyrrha just blushed, giggling softly with her as she hugged the tiny body close.

“Wait, wait, wait.” Jaune stated, still dumbfounded by the events quickly unraveling right before his eyes. “I’m straight. I can’t date you, Ren. Nora and Pyrrha, sure I guess, but I don’t do guys.”

“I won’t force you to date me, Jaune.”

“But you just said that you wanted a four way relationship?”

“I did. But you don’t have to agree. Take some time and think on it. If we don’t work out, at least you still have the girls.”

Their team leader seemed frustrated, glancing back and forth between the couple on the floor and the boy at his side. He felt kind of like a jerk doing this, but he wasn’t gay or bisexual. He explicitly liked girls, kind of.

Okay, guys could be nice to look at too. But that didn’t mean he liked them that way!

“I’ll think about it, okay?” Jaune sighed, defeated by his own doubts.

Ren smiled faintly at him, nudging his arm. “Thank you.”

The following days proved that the relationship, while a bit rocky in the beginning, was one of the best decisions that the team ever made. Nora felt herself bloom from the shroud that always seemed to cover her, becoming less anxious and more confident. Ren felt like the darkness and lethargy that always tugged at his mind were disappearing, vanishing into thin air and providing him with more energy than he knew what to do with. Pyrrha felt herself feeling more accepted, eager to please everyone in the relationship and showing just how great of a girlfriend she could be. Jaune, after accepting Ren’s offer after a couple of weeks full of thinking, proved that it wasn’t too late for his self-esteem to grow, becoming more sure of himself and being unashamed to hold any of his partners’ hands in public.

Ren and Nora’s eyes were opened to the world of sexualities while they attended Beacon, Team RWBY acting as the main educators for that portion of their lives.

Things were going well for all of the teenagers; getting new grades, making new friends, maintaining steady relationships.

It was like nothing could go wrong for them, not when they were on top of the world.

That was, until they became orphans once again after finding out that the orphanage that resided right on the outskirts of the city was destroyed, the team of Hunters that ran it deemed missing.

Nora still received her hormones and the two were taken care of financially by inheritance, but none of that could fix the intangible problems that were about to strike. The little ginger began to have panic attacks again, always running to one of her partners in an attempt to heal her returning anxiety that her loved ones were abandoning her.

Ren, while never having thought of it as a possible problem, began to feel the lethargy returning, his energy being sapped by a beast unknown. Others wanted to label it, tack some sort of mental disorder to it, but he refused, positive that it was just physical exhaustion. Everyone had been working hard, after all.

Pyrrha and Jaune were at a loss for what to do, their best ideas not feeling like they were enough. It never quite seemed like all of the cuddling and comforting they did really made a difference.

The two were glad whenever their teammates seemed to be having a good day, but Dust protect them if either or both were having a dark day.

Jaune appreciated the school dance, reveling in the positive emotions that all of his teammates and romantic partners seemed to exude. He especially liked seeing Nora and Ren have some fun since the first dark day, disregarding the embarrassment that came with wearing a dress in lieu of their happiness.

Pyrrha appreciated the upcoming Vytal Festival, glad to talk strategy and celebration with her very unique teammates. She loved talking weaponry with Nora, glad to see that the girl was coming back to her senses. She also loved speaking culture with Ren, both taking an interest in all of the different people coming to partake in the widely popular event.

Things were difficult, but they were looking up.

***

Nora felt that, despite her earlier panicking about the team fight, all four members of Team JNPR did exceptionally well against Team BRNZ save for Jaune’s little stunt with the team attacks.

As they exited the stadium she sidled up to Ren, bumping him with her shoulder.

“Yes, Nora?” He’d asked her, turning his head to look at her while they walked.

Pyrrha and Jaune walked ahead of the two, talking about something or other. Probably Jaune’s poor use of strategy since the redhead was acting as his mentor and all.

“I was just thinking. Do you think that, well, Uncle and all of them would be proud of us if they saw?”

Ren took in a quiet breath, thinking about his answer carefully. “I’m sure they did see, and I’m also sure that they are proud of us.”

Nora smiled, warm and genuine, before grabbing onto Ren’s arm, hugging it tightly. “Good. That’s really good. Maybe this will give them more incentive to stop being missing, huh?” She said that last part solemnly, no conviction behind her words. There was a feeling that their caretakers would never come back, but she could hope. However dismally, she could hope.

“Ren, Nora, hurry up! Don’t you guys want to meet up with the others before the next fight?”

The two glanced forward at their names, watching as Jaune waved at them from where he stood next to Pyrrha. Somehow the two had made it quite a bit ahead of the childhood friends, standing and waiting patiently for them to catch up.

Nora waved back, singing a small “Coming!” before skipping ahead and tugging on Ren’s arm.

The rest of the day passed by, the usual shenanigans that the friends got into seeming more lively than usual.

“... and that leads us to where we are now.” A bubbly ginger stated from the nest of blankets and mattresses on the floor, storytime having taken longer than any of the four would have anticipated.

A lamp had been flicked on while Nora spoke, the team sitting up and huddling together so that they could all listen properly. Nora had her legs draped over Pyrrha’s lap, Jaune pressed right against her back while Ren sat next to Pyrrha, arms wrapped around her stomach. They had multiple blankets thrown over them, some bunched up and others wrapped tightly.

Pyrrha and Jaune were focused intently on the little storyteller, gazes flickering to Ren every once in a while when he would correct Nora or add his own comments.

The mood was indescribable, not sad but not exuberant either. It was more like it was calm, the four of them content with their current standing in life.

“You guys never figured out what happened, huh?” Jaune questioned, resting his chin on Nora’s shoulder.

Ren nodded from beside Pyrrha, nudging at Nora with his foot. “Correct. We would have taken that mission, but then the Grimm invasion happened.”

“Yeah.” Nora agreed, tapping her feet together. “But that’s okay. I think Ren and I are over it now.”

“That’s good. Remember, you two still have us no matter what.” Pyrrha stated kindly.

“I’d be a bad boyfriend if I let one of my girlfriends and my boyfriend feel bad.” The blonde agreed, tickling the ginger in his arms.

The little valkyrie laughed brightly, smile lighting up the room just as the sunrise would. Actually, looking at the time, it was practically at the hour when the team would usually wake up. Well, when Pyrrha, Jaune, and Nora would wake up with Ren being forced awake about half an hour later. Looking through the window closed off by curtains, they would see that the first sliver of light was beginning to crest over a far off hill.

“I guess we should be getting up.” Jaune lamented, staring at his scroll. “The doubles rounds are today. We should go give Team RWBY some support, and then we have our own fight too.”

“Mm, I wish you two well.” Ren stated sleepily, already making moves to return to sleep.

Pyrrha grabbed onto the fatigued ninja, hauling him back into a sitting position.

“Get ready, Ren.” She chastised, pushing at him to get him up and moving.

Slowly, yet steadily, the team began to move and stretch, milling about and getting ready for the day at their own pace.

“Man, I wish the tournament would never end.” Nora sighed wistfully, hugging her hammer to her chest.

“Come on, Nora. Don’t be a slowpoke.” Team JNPR’s leader called from the doorway where he, Ren, and Pyrrha were waiting. The tiny ginger saluted, skipping after them with a pleased hum.

Life was good.


End file.
